.491 
7 


THE     BOOK    OF    JUDGES. 


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JUDGES   AND    RUTH 


■^^:^!':^'\ 


->^jM..',s5«^^ 


BY   THE   REV. 


ROBERT   A.  WATSON,  D.D., 

AUTHOR    OF  "  GOSPELS   OF    YESTERDAY." 


NEW  YORK: 
A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON, 

51  East  loth  Street,  Near  Broadway. 
1893. 


CONTENTS. 

THE    BOOK   OF  JUDGES. 
L 

PA6K 
PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR     •  •  •  •  •        3 

JUDGES  I.    I — II. 

II. 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  SWORD       •••••••iS 

JUDGES  I.    12 — 26. 

III. 

AT  BOCHIM:     the   FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE     .  •  •  •     3I 

JUDGES  II.   I — 5. 

IV. 

AMONG  THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM  .•••••     45 
JUDGES  II.  7 — 23. 

V. 

THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND  OF  OTHNIEL     '  •  •  •  •     61 

JUDGES  III.   I — II. 

VI. 

THE  DAGGER  AND  THE  OX-GOAD     ^         .         *         •         •  *     17 

JUDGES  III.    12 — 31. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

VII. 

PAGE 

THE  SIBYL  OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM 91 

JUDGES  lY. 

VIII. 

DEBORAH'S  SONG:     A   DIVINE  VISION        •  •  •  "  •    Io6 

JUDGES  V. 

IX. 

Deborah's  song:    a  chant  of  patriotism        •       •       ,120 

JUDGES  V. 

X. 

the  desert  hordes;  and  the  man  at  ophrah       •        .135 
judges  vi.  i — 14. 

XI. 

GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND   REFORMER I50 

JUDGES  VI.    15—32. 

XII. 
"the   people  are  YET  TOO   MANY"       ,  ,  .  ,  ,164 

JUDGES  VI.   33 — VII,    7. 

XIII. 
"MIDIAN'S  EVIL  day"      .  ,  ,  ,  .  .  ,  .   I78 

JUDGES  VII.  8 — VIII.    21. 

XIV. 
GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC        .  .  «  ,  .  ,  ,19 

JUDGES  VIII.   22 — 28. 

XV. 

ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM  ..••«,.  20« 

JUDGES  VIII.    29— IX.    57. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

XVI. 

PAGE 

GILEAD  AND  ITS  CHIEF    .  ..•••••  224 

JUDGES  X.    I — XI.    II. 

XVII. 
THE  TERRIBLE  VOW  ..••••••  239 

JUDGES   XI.    12 — 40. 

XVIII. 
SHIBBOLETHS  . 254 

JUDGES  XII.    I — 7' 

XIX. 

THE  ANGEL  IN   THE  FIELD 266 

JUDGES  XIII.    I — 18. 

XX. 

SAMSON   PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE  ••••••  279 

JUDGES  XIII.  24 — XIV.   20. 

XXI. 

DAUNTLESS  IN   BATTLE,   IGNORANTLY  BRAVE  •  •  •  293 

JUDGES  XV. 

XXII. 
PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN   GAZA        ••••••  3^7 

JUDGES  XVI.    I — 3. 

XXIII. 
THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND   OF  DEATH  •  •  •  .319 

JUDGES  XVI.    4—31. 


vui  CONTENTS. 

XXIV. 

PAGE 

THE  STOLEN  GODS ,  335 

JUDGES  XVII.,    XVIII. 

XXV. 

FROM  JUSTICE  TO  WILD  REVENGE  .•••••  348 
JUDGES  XIX. — XXI. 


THE    BOOK   OF  RUTH, 
I. 

IfAOMI*S  BURDEN •  •  363 

RUTH  I.   I — 13. 

II. 
THE  PARTING  OF  THE  WAYS  .«•••••  375 
RUTH   I.    14 — 19. 

III. 
IN  THE  FIELD  OF  BQAZ  ..••••••  386 

RUTH  I.    19 — II.    23, 

IV. 
THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN    «•••••••  397 

RUTH  III« 

V. 
THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE  GATE  •  •  •  •  •  •  408 

RUTH  IV 

Index     ••••••«•       •••421 


I. 

PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND    WAR. 
Judges  L  i-ii. 

IT  was  a  new  hour  in  the  history  of  Israel.  To  a 
lengthened  period  of  serfdom  there  had  succeeded 
a  time  of  sojourn  in  tents,  when  the  camp  of  the  tribes, 
half-military,  half-pastoral,  clustering  about  the  Taber- 
nacle of  Witness,  moved  with  it  from  point  to  point 
through  the  desert.  Now  the  march  was  over ;  the 
nomads  had  to  become  settlers,  a  change  not  easy  for 
them  as  they  expected  it  to  be,  full  of  significance 
for  the  world.  The  Book  of  Judges,  therefore,  is  a 
second  Genesis  or  Chronicle  of  Beginnings  so  far  as 
the  Hebrew  commonwealth  is  concerned.  We  see  the 
birth-throes  of  national  life,  the  experiments,  struggles, 
errors  and  disasters  out  of  which  the  moral  force  of 
the  people  gradually  rose,  growing  Hke  a  pine  tree  out 
of  rocky  soil. 

If  we  begin  our  study  of  the  book  expecting  to  find 
clear  evidence  of  an  established  Theocracy,  a  spiritual 
idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ever  present  to  the  mind, 
ever  guiding  the  hope  and  effort  of  the  tribes,  we  shall 
experience  that  bewilderment  which  has  not  seldom 
fallen  upon  students  of  Old  Testament  history.  Divide 
the  life  of  man  into  two  parts,  the  sacred  and  the  secular ; 
regard  the  latter  as  of  no  real  value  compared  to  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


other,  as  havirg  no  relation  to  that  Divine  purpose  of 
which  the  Bible  is  the  oracle ;  then  the  Book  of  Judges 
must  appear  out  of  place  in  the  sacred  canon,  for 
unquestionably  its  main  topics  are  secular  from  first 
to  last.  It  preserves  the  traditions  of  an  age  when 
spiritual  ideas  and  aims  were  frequently  out  of  sight, 
when  a  nation  was  struggling  for  bare  existence,  or, 
at  best,  for  a  rude  kind  of  unity  and  freedom.  But 
human  life,  sacred  and  secular,  is  one.  A  single  strain 
of  moral  urgency  runs  through  the  epochs  of  national 
development  from  barbarism  to  Christian  civilization. 
A  single  strain  of  urgency  unites  the  boisterous  vigour 
of  the  youth  and  the  sagacious  spiritual  courage  of 
the  man.  It  is  on  the  strength  first,  and  then  on  the 
discipline  and  purification  of  the  will,  that  everything 
depends.  There  must  be  energy,  or  there  can  be  no 
adequate  faith,  no  earnest  religion.  We  trace  in  the 
Book  of  Judges  the  springing  up  and  growth  of  a 
collective  energy  which  gives  power  to  each  separate 
life.  To  our  amazement  we  may  discover  that  the 
Mosaic  Law  and  Ordinances  are  neglected  for  a  time ; 
but  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  Divine  Providence,  the 
activity  of  the  redeeming  Spirit.  Great  ends  are  being 
served, — a  development  is  proceeding  which  will  by- 
and-by  make  religious  thought  strong,  obedience  and 
worship  zealous.  It  is  not  for  us  to  say  that  spiritual 
evolution  ought  to  proceed  in  this  way  or  that.  In 
the  study  of  natural  and  supernatural  fact  our  business 
is  to  observe  with  all  possible  care  the  goings  fot^th  of 
God  and  to  find  as  far  as  we  may  their  meaning  and 
issue.  Faith  is  a  profound  conviction  that  the  facts 
of  the  world  justify  themselves  and  the  wisdom  and 
righteousness  of  the  Eternal ;  it  is  the  key  that  makes 
history  articulate,  no  mere  tale  full  of  sound  and  fury 


i.i-ii.]    PKUB!EMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.  5 

signifying  nothing.  And  the  key  of  faith  which  here 
we  are  to  use  in  the  interpretation  of  Hebrew  life  has 
yet  to  be  apphed  to  all  peoples  and  times.  That  this 
may  be  done  we  firmly  believe  :  there  is  needed  only 
the  mind  broad  enough  in  wisdom  and  sympathy  to 
gather  the  annals  of  the  world  into  one  great  Bible 
or  Book  of  God. 

Opening  the  story  of  the  Judges,  we  find  ourselves 
in  a  keen  atmosphere  of  warlike  ardour  softened  by 
scarcely  an  air  of  spiritual  grace.  At  once  we  are 
plunged  into  military  preparations;  councils  of  war 
meet  and  the  clash  of  weapons  is  heard.  Battle 
follows  battle.  Iron  chariots  hurtle  along  the  valleys, 
the  hillsides  bristle  with  armed  men.  The  songs  are 
of  strife  and  conquest  ;  the  great  heroes  are  those  who 
smite  the  uncircumcised  hip  and  thigh.  It  is  the  story 
of  Jehovah's  people  ;  but  where  is  Jehovah  the  merci- 
ful ?  Does  He  reign  among  them,  or  sanction  their 
enterprise  ?  Where  amid  this  turmoil  and  bloodshed 
is  the  movement  towards  the  far-off  Messiah  and  the 
holy  mountain  where  nothing  shall  hurt  or  destroy  ? 
Does  Israel  prepare  for  blessing  all  nations  by  crushing 
those  that  occupy  the  land  he  claims  ?  Problems  many 
meet  us  in  Bible  history ;  here  surely  is  one  of  the 
gravest.  And  we  cannot  go  with  Judah  in  that  first 
expedition ;  we  must  hold  back  in  doubt  till  clearly  we 
understand  how  these  wars  of  conquest  are  necessary 
to  the  progress  of  the  world.  Then,  even  though  the 
tribes  are  as  yet  unaware  of  their  destiny  and  how 
it  is  to  be  fulfilled,  we  may  go  up  with  them  against 
Adoni-bezek. 

Canaan  is  to  be  colonised  by  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
Canaan  and  no  other  land,      It  is  not  now,  as  it  was  in 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


Abraham's  time,  a  sparsely  peopled  country,  with  room 
enough  for  a  new  race.  Canaanites,  Hivites,  Perizzites, 
Amorites  cultivate  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  and  inhabit 
a  hundred  cities  throughout  the  land.  The  Hittites 
are  in  considerable  force,  a  strong  people  with  a  civi- 
lization of  their  own.  To  the  north  Phoenicia  is  astir 
with  a  mercantile  and  vigorous  race.  The  Philistines 
have  settlements  southward  along  the  coast.  Had 
Israel  sought  a  region  comparatively  unoccupied,  such 
might,  perhaps,  have  been  found  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Africa.     But  Syria  is  the  destined  home  of  the  tribes. 

The  old  promise  to  Abraham  has  been  kept  before 
the  minds  of  his  descendants.  The  land  to  which  they 
have  moved  through  the  desert  is  that  of  which  he  took 
earnest  by  the  purchase  of  a  grave.  But  the  promise 
of  God  looks  forward  to  the  circumstances  that  are  to 
accompany  its  fulfilment;  and  it  is  justified  because 
the  occupation  of  Canaan  is  the  means  to  a  great  de- 
velopment of  righteousness.  For,  mark  the  position 
which  the  Hebrew  nation  is  to  take.  It  is  to  be  the 
central  state  of  the  world,  in  verity  the  Mountain  of 
God's  House  for  the  world.  Then  observe  how  the 
situation  of  Canaan  fits  it  to  be  the  seat  of  this  new 
progressive  power.  Egypt,  Babylon,  Assyria,  Greece, 
Rome,  Carthage,  lie  in  a  rude  circle  around  it.  From 
its  sea-board  the  way  is  open  to  the  west.  Across  the 
valley  of  Jordan  goes  the  caravan  route  to  the  East. 
The  Nile,  the  Orontes,  the  ^Egean  Sea  are  not  far  off. 
Canaan  does  not  confine  its  inhabitants,  scarcely 
separates  them  from  other  peoples.  It  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  old  world. 

Is  not  this  one  reason  why  Israel  must  inhabit 
Palestine  ?  Suppose  the  tribes  settled  in  the  highlands 
of  Armenia  or  along  the  Persian  Gulf;  suppose  them 


i.i-ii.]   PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.  7 

to  have  migrated  westward  from  Egypt  instead  01 
eastward,  and  to  have  found  a  place  of  habitation  on 
towards  Libya  :  would  the  history  in  that  case  have 
had  the  same  movement  and  power  ?  Would  the 
theatre  of  prophecy  and  the  scene  of  the  Messiah's 
work  have  set  the  gospel  of  the  ages  in  the  same  relief, 
or  the  growing  City  of  God  on  the  same  mountain 
height  ?  Not  only  is  Canaan  accessible  to  the 
emigrants  from  Egypt,  but  it  is  by  position  and  con- 
figuration suited  to  develop  the  genius  of  the  race. 
Gennesaret  and  Asphaltitis;  the  tortuous  Jordan  and 
Kishon,  that  ^'  river  of  battles  " ;  the  cliffs  of  Engedi, 
Gerizim  and  Ebal,  Carmel  and  Tabor,  Moriah  and  Olivet, 
— these  are  needed  as  the  scene  of  the  great  Divine 
revelation.  No  other  rivers,  no  other  lakes  nor  moun- 
tains on  the  surface  of  the  earth  will  do. 

This,  however,  is  but  part  of  the  problem  which  meets 
us  in  regard  to  the  settlement  in  Canaan.  There  are 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land  to  be  considered — these 
Amorites,  Hittites,  Jebusites,  Hivites.  How  do  we 
justify  Israel  in  displacing  them,  slaying  them,  absorb- 
ing them  ?  Here  is  a  question  first  of  evolution,  then 
of  the  character  of  God. 

Do  we  justify  Saxons  in  their  raid  on  Britain  ? 
History  does.  They  become  dominant,  they  rule,  they 
slay,  they  assimilate ;  and  there  grows  up  British 
nationality  strong  and  trusty,  the  citadel  of  freedom 
and  religious  life.  The  case  is  similar,  yet  there  is  a 
difference,  strongly  in  favour  of  Israel  as  an  invading 
people.  For  the  Israelites  have  been  tried  by  stern 
discipline  :  they  are  held  together  by  a  moral  law,  a 
religion  divinely  revealed,  a  faith  vigorous  though  but 
in  germ.  The  Saxons  worshipping  Thor,  Frea  and 
Woden  sweep  religion  before  them  in  the  first  rush  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


conquest.  They  begin  by  destroying  Roman  civiliza- 
tion and  Christian  culture  in  the  land  they  ravage. 
They  appear  ^'  dogs/'  ^'  wolves,"  "  whelps  from  the 
kennel  of  barbarism  "  to  the  Britons  they  overcome. 
But  the  Israelites  have  learned  to  fear  Jehovah,  and 
they  bear  with  them  the  ark  of  His  covenant. 

As  for  the  Canaanitish  tribes,  compare  them  now 
with  what  they  were  when  Abraham  and  Isaac  fed 
their  flocks  in  the  plain  of  Mamre  or  about  the  springs 
of  Beersheba.  Abraham  found  in  Canaan  noble  cour- 
teous men.  Aner,  Eshcol  and  Mamre,  Amorites,  were 
his  trusted  confederates ;  Ephron  the  Hittite  matched 
his  magnanimity ;  Abimelech  of  Gerar  "  feared  the 
Lord."  In  Salem  reigned  a  king  or  royal  priest, 
Melchizedek,  unique  in  ancient  history,  a  majestic  un- 
sullied figure,  who  enjoyed  the  respect  and  tribute  of 
the  Hebrew  patriarch.  Where  are  the  successors  of 
those  men?  Idolatry  has  corrupted  Canaan.  The 
old  piety  of  simple  races  has  died  away  before  the 
hideous  worship  of  Moloch  and  Ashtoreth.  It  is  over 
degenerate  peoples  that  Israel  is  to  assert  its  dominance ; 
they  must  learn  the  way  of  Jehovah  or  perish.  This 
conquest  is  essential  to  the  progress  of  the  world. 
Here  in  the  centre  of  empires  a  stronghold  of  pure 
ideas  and  commanding  morality  is  to  be  established, 
an  altar  of  witness  for  the  true  God. 

So  far  we  move  without  difficulty  towards  a  justifica- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  descent  on  Canaan.  Still,  however, 
when  we  survey  the  progress  of  conquest,  the  idea 
struggling  for  confirmation  in  our  minds  that  God  was 
King  and  Guide  of  this  people,  while  at  the  same  time 
we  know  that  all  nations  could  equally  claim  Him  as 
their  Origin,  marking  how  on  field  after  field  thousands 
were  left  dying  and  dead,  we  have  to  find  an  answer 


i.  i-ii.]    PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.  9 

to  the  question  whether  the  slaughter  and  destruction 
even  of  idolatrous  races  for  the  sake  of  Israel  can  be 
explained  in  harmony  with  Divine  justice.  And  this 
passes  into  still  wider  inquiries.  Is  there  intrinsic 
value  in  human  life  ?  Have  men  a  proper  right  of 
existence  and  self-development  ?  Does  not  Divine 
Providence  imply  that  the  history  of  each  people,  the 
life  of  each  person  will  have  its  separate  end  and 
vindication  ?  There  is  surely  a  reason  in  the  righte- 
ousness and  love  of  God  for  every  human  experience, 
and  Christian  thought  cannot  explain  the  severity  of 
Old  Testament  ordinances  by  assuming  that  the 
Supreme  has  made  a  new  dispensation  for  Himself. 
The  problem  is  difficult,  but  we  dare  not  evade  it  nor 
doubt  a  full  solution  to  be  possible. 

We  pass  here  beyond  mere  "  natural  evolution."  It 
is  not  enough  to  say  that  there  had  to  be  a  struggle 
for  life  among  races  and  individuals  If  natural  forces 
are  held  to  be  the  limit  and  equivalent  of  God,  then 
"  survival  of  the  fittest "  may  become  a  religious 
doctrine,  but  assuredly  it  will  introduce  us  to  no  God 
of  pardon,  no  hope  of  redemption.  We  must  discover 
a  Divine  end  in  the  life  of  each  person,  a  member  it 
may  be  of  some  doomed  race,  dying  on  a  field  of  battle 
in  the  holocaust  of  its  valour  and  chivalry.  Explana- 
tion is  needed  of  all  slaughtered  and  '^  waste "  lives, 
untold  myriads  of  lives  that  never  tasted  freedom  or 
knew  holiness. 

The  explanation  we  find  is  this :  that  for  a  human 
life  in  the  present  stage  of  existence  the  opportunity  of 
struggle  for  moral  ends — it  may  be  ends  of  no  great 
dignity,  yet  really  moral,  and,  as  the  race  advances, 
religious — this  makes  life  worth  living  and  brings  to 
every  one  the  means  of  true  and  lasting  gain.    "  Where 


lo  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

ignorant  armies  clash  by  night "  there  may  be  in  the 
opposing  ranks  the  most  various  notions  of  reHgion 
and  of  what  is  morally  good.  The  histories  of  the 
nations  that  meet  in  shock  of  battle  determine  largely 
what  hopes  and  aims  guide  individual  lives.  But  to 
the  thousands  who  do  valiantly  this  conflict  belongs  to 
the  vital  struggle  in  which  some  idea  of  the  morally 
good  or  of  religious  duty  directs  and  animates  the  soul. 
For  hearth  and  home,  for  wife  and  children,  for  chief 
and  comrades,  for  Jehovah  or  Baal,  men  fight,  and 
around  these  names  there  cluster  thoughts  the  sacredest 
possible  to  the  age,  dignifying  life  and  war  and  death. 
There  are  better  kinds  of  struggle  than  that  which  is 
acted  on  the  bloody  field  ;  yet  struggle  of  one  kind  or 
other  there  must  be.  It  is  the  law  of  existence  for  the 
barbarian,  for  the  Hebrew,  for  the  Christian.  Ever 
there  is  a  necessity  for  pressing  towards  the  mark, 
striving  to  reach  and  enter  the  gate  of  higher  life.  No 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  to  be  peaceably 
inherited  and  enjoyed  rewards  the  generation  which 
has  fought  its  way  through  the  desert.  No  placid 
possession  of  cities  and  vineyards  rounds  off  the  life  of 
Canaanitish  tribe.  The  gains  of  endurance  are  reaped, 
only  to  be  sown  again  in  labour  and  tears  for  a 
further  harvest.  Here  on  earth  this  is  the  plan  of  God 
for  men ;  and  when  another  life  crowns  the  long  effort 
of  this  world  of  change,  may  it  not  be  with  fresh  calls 
to  more  glorious  duty  and  achievement  ? 

But  the  golden  cord  of  Divine  Providence  has  more 
than  one  strand;  and  while  the  conflicts  of  life  are 
appointed  for  the  discipHne  of  men  and  nations  in  moral 
vigour  and  in  fidelity  to  such  religious  ideas  as  they 
possess,  the  purer  and  stronger  faith  always  giving 
more  power  to  those  who  exercise  it,  there  is  also  in 


i.i-ii.]    PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.  ii 

the  course  of  life,  and  especially  in  the  suffering  war 
entails,  a  reference  to  the  sins  of  men.  Warfare  is  a 
sad  necessity.  Itself  often  a  crime,  it  issues  the  judg- 
ment of  God  against  folly  and  crime.  Now  Israel,  now 
the  Canaanite  becomes  a  hammer  of  Jehovah.  One 
people  has  been  true  to  its  best,  and  by  that  faith- 
fulness it  gains  the  victory.  Another  has  been  false, 
cruel,  treacherous,  and  the  hands  of  the  fighters  grow 
weak,  their  swords  lose  edge,  their  chariot-wheels  roll 
heavily,  they  are  swept  away  by  the  avenging  tide. 
Or  the  sincere,  the  good  are  overcome ;  the  weak  who 
are  in  the  right  sink  before  the  wicked  who  are  strong. 
Yet  the  moral  triumph  is  always  gained.  Even  in 
defeat  and  death  there  is  victory  for  the  faithful. 

In  these  wars  of  Israel  we  find  many  a  story  of 
judgment  as  well  as  a  constant  proving  of  the  worth 
of  man's  religion  and  virtue.  Neither  was  Israel 
always  in  the  right,  nor  had  those  races  which  Israel 
overcame  always  a  title  to  the  power  they  held  and 
the  land  they  occupied.  Jehovah  was  a  stern  arbiter 
among  the  combatants.  When  His  own  people  failed  in 
the  courage  and  humility  of  faith,  they  were  chastised. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  were  tyrants  and  tyrannous 
races,  freebooters  and  banditti,  pagan  hordes  steeped 
in  uncleanness  who  had  to  be  judged  and  punished. 
Where  we  cannot  trace  the  reason  of  what  appears 
mere  waste  of  hfe  or  wanton  cruelty,  there  lie  behind,  in 
the  ken  of  the  All-seeing,  the  need  and  perfect  vindica- 
tion of  all  He  suffered  to  be  done  in  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  battle,  amid  the  riot  of  war. 

Beginning  now  with  the  detailed  narrative,  we  find 
first  a  case  of  retribution,  in  which  the  Israelites  served 
the  justice  of  God.     As  yet  the  Canaanite  power  was 


12  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

unbroken  in  the  central  region  of  Western  Palestine, 
where  Adoni-bezek  ruled  over  the  cities  of  seventy 
chiefs.  It  became  a  question  who  should  lead  the 
tribes  against  this  petty  despot,  and  recourse  was  had  to 
the  priests  at  Gilgal  for  Divine  direction.  The  answer 
of  the  oracle  was  that  Judah  should  head  the  campaign, 
the  warlike  vigour  and  numerical  strength  of  that  tribe 
fitting  it  to  take  the  foremost  place.  Judah  accepting 
the  post  of  honour  invited  Simeon,  closely  related  by 
common  descent  from  Leah,  to  join  the  expedition ; 
and  thus  began  a  confederacy  of  these  southern  tribes 
which  had  the  effect  of  separating  them  from  the  others 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  judges.  The 
locality  of  Bezek  which  the  king  of  the  Canaanites  held 
as  his  chief  fortress  is  not  known.  Probably  it  was 
near  the  Jordan  valley,  about  half-way  between  the 
two  greater  lakes.  From  it  the  tyranny  of  Adoni- 
bezek  extended  northward  and  southward  over  the 
cities  of  the  seventy,  whose  submission  he  had  cruelly 
ensured  by  rendering  them  unfit  for  war.  Here,  in 
the  first  struggle,  Judah  was  completely  successful. 
The  rout  of  the  Canaanites  and  Perizzites  was  decisive, 
and  the  slaughter  so  great  as  to  send  a  thrill  of  terror 
through  the  land.  And  now  the  rude  judgment  of  men 
works  out  the  decree  of  God.  Adoni-bezek  suffers  the 
same  mutilation  as  he  had  inflicted  on  the  captive 
chiefs  and  in  Oriental  manner  makes  acknowledgment 
of  a  just  fate.  There  is  a  certain  religiousness  in  his 
mind,  and  he  sincerely  bows  himself  under  the  judgment 
of  a  God  against  Whom  he  had  tried  issues  in  vain. 
Had  these  troops  of  Israel  come  in  the  name  of 
Jehovah?  Then  Jehovah  had  been  watching  Adoni- 
bezek  in  his  pride  when  as  he  daily  feasted  in  his  hall 
the  crowd  of  victims  grovelled  at  his  feet  like  dogs. 


i.i-ii.]    PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.         13 

Thus  early  did  ideas  of  righteousness  and  of  wide 
authority  attach  themselves  in  Canaan  to  the  name  of 
Israel's  God.  It  is  remarkable  how  on  the  appearance 
of  a  new  race  the  first  collision  with  it  on  the  battle- 
field will  produce  an  impression  of  its  capacity  and 
spirit  and  of  unseen  powers  fighting  along  with  it. 
Joshua's  dash  through  Canaan  doubtless  struck  far 
and  wide  a  belief  that  the  new  comers  had  a  mighty 
God  to  support  them ;  the  belief  is  reinforced,  and  there 
is  added  a  thought  of  Divine  justice.  The  retribution 
of  Jehovah  meant  Godhead  far  larger  and  more  terrible, 
and  at  the  same  time  more  august,  than  the  religion  of 
Baal  had  ever  presented  to  the  mind.  From  this  point 
the  Israelites,  if  they  had  been  true  to  their  heavenly 
King,  fired  with  the  ardour  of  His  name,  would  have 
occupied  a  moral  vantage  ground  and  proved  invincible. 
The  fear  of  Jehovah  would  have  done  more  for  them 
than  their  own  valour  and  arms.  Had  the  people  of 
the  land  seen  that  a  power  was  being  established 
amongst  them  in  the  justice  and  benignity  of  which 
they  could  trust,  had  they  learned  not  only  to  fear  but 
to  adore  Jehovah,  there  would  have  been  quick  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise  which  gladdened  the  large  heart 
of  Abraham.  The  realization,  however,  had  to  wait 
for  many  a  century. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  Israel  had  under  Moses 
received  such  an  impulse  in  the  direction  of  faith  in 
the  one  God,  and  such  a  conception  of  His  character 
and  will,  as  declared  the  spiritual  mission  of  the  tribes. 
The  people  were  not  all  aware  of  their  high  destiny, 
not  sufficiently  instructed  to  have  a  competent  sense 
of  it ;  but  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  the  Levites  and  the 
heads  of  households,  should  have  well  understood  the 
part  that  fell  to  Israel  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 


14  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

The  law  in  its  main  outlines  was  known,  and  it  should 
have  been  revered  as  the  charter  of  the  commonwealth. 
Under  the  banner  of  Jehovah  the  nation  ought  to  have 
striven  not  for  its  own  position  alone,  the  enjoyment 
of  fruitful  fields  and  fenced  cities,  but  to  raise  the 
standard  of  human  morality  and  enforce  the  truth  of 
Divine  religion.  The  gross  idolatry  of  the  peoples 
around  should  have  been  continually  testified  against ; 
the  principles  of  honesty,  of  domestic  purity,  of  regard 
for  human  Hfe,  of  neighbourliness  and  parental  authority, 
as  well  as  the  more  spiritual  ideas  expressed  in  the 
first  table  of  the  Decalogue,  ought  to  have  been  guarded 
and  dispensed  as  the  special  treasure  of  the  nation. 
In  this  way  Israel,  as  it  enlarged  its  territory,  would 
from  the  first  have  been  clearing  one  space  of  earth 
for  the  good  customs  and  holy  observances  that  make 
for  spiritual  development.  The  greatest  of  all  trusts 
is  committed  to  a  race  when  it  is  made  capable  of  this ; 
but  here  Israel  often  failed,  and  the  reproaches  of  her 
prophets  had  to  be  poured  out  from  age  to  age. 

The  ascendency  which  Israel  secured  in  Canaan,  or 
that  which  Britain  has  won  in  India,  is  not,  to  begin 
with,  justified  by  superior  strength,  nor  by  higher  in- 
telligence, nor  even  because  in  practice  the  religion  of 
the  conquerors  is  better  than  that  of  the  vanquished. 
It  is  justified  because,  with  all  faults  and  crimes  that 
may  for  long  attend  the  rule  of  the  victorious  race, 
there  lie,  unrealised  at  first,  in  conceptions  of  God  and 
of  duty  the  promise  and  germ  of  a  higher  education 
of  the  world.  Developed  in  the  course  of  time,  the 
spiritual  genius  of  the  conquerors  vindicates  their  ambi- 
tion and  their  success.  The  world  is  to  become  the 
heritage  and  domain  of  those  who  have  the  secret  of 
large  and  ascending  life. 


i.i-ii.]    PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR,         15 

Judah  moving  southward  from  Bezek  took  Jerusalem, 
not  the  stronghold  on  the  hilltop,  but  the  city,  and 
smote  it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword.  Not  yet  did  that 
citadel  which  has  been  the  scene  of  so  many  conflicts 
become  a  rallying-point  for  the  tribes.  The  army, 
leaving  Adoni-bezek  dead  in  Jerusalem,  with  many 
who  owned  him  as  chief,  swept  southward  still  to 
Hebron  and  Debir.  At  Hebron  the  task  was  not 
unlike  that  which  had  been  just  accompHshed.  There 
reigned  three  chiefs,  Sheshai,  Ahiman  and  Talmai, 
who  are  mentioned  again  and  again  in  the  annals  as 
if  their  names  had  been  deeply  branded  on  the  memory 
of  the  age.  They  were  sons  of  Anak,  bandit  captains, 
whose  rule  was  a  terror  to  the  country  side.  Their 
power  had  to  be  assailed  and  overthrown,  not  only  for 
the  sake  of  Judah  which  was  to  inhabit  their  strong- 
hold, but  for  the  sake  of  humanity.  The  law  of  God 
was  to  replace  the  fierce  unregulated  sway  of  inhuman 
violence  and  cruelty.  So  the  practical  duty  of  the  hour 
carried  the  tribes  beyond  the  citadel  where  the  best 
national  centre  would  have  been  found  to  attack  another 
where  an  evil  power  sat  entrenched. 

One  moral  lies  on  the  surface  here.  We  are  naturally 
anxious  to  gain  a  good  position  in  life  for  ourselves, 
and  every  consideration  is  apt  to  be  set  aside  in  favour 
of  that.  Now,  in  a  sense,  it  is  necessary,  one  of  the 
first  duties,  that  we  gain  each  a  citadel  for  himself. 
Our  influence  depends  to  a  great  extent  on  the  standing 
we  secure,  on  the  courage  and  talent  we  sho«v  in 
making  good  our  place.  Our  personality  must  enlarge 
itself,  make  itself  visible  by  the  conquest  we  effect  and 
the  extent  of  affairs  we  have  a  right  to  control.  Effort 
on  this  line  needs  not  be  selfish  or  egoistic  in  a  bad 
sense.     The  higher  self  or  spirit  of  a  good  man  finds 


i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

in  chosen  ranges  of  activity  and  possession  its  true 
development  and  calling.  One  may  not  be  a  worldling 
by  any  means  while  he  follows  the  bent  of  his  genius 
and  uses  opportunity  to  become  a  successful  merchant, 
a  public  administrator,  a  great  artist  or  man  of  letters. 
All  that  he  adds  to  his  native  inheritance  of  hand, 
brain  and  soul  should  be  and  often  is  the  means  of 
enriching  the  world.  Against  the  false  doctrine  of 
self-suppression,  still  urged  on  a  perplexed  generation, 
stands  this  true  doctrine,  by  which  the  generous  helper 
of  men  guides  his  life  so  as  to  become  a  king  and  priest 
unto  God.  And  when  we  turn  from  persons  of  highest 
character  and  talent  to  those  of  smaller  capacity,  we  may 
not  alter  the  principle  of  judgment.  They,  too,  serve 
the  world,  in  so  far  as  they  have  good  qualities,  by  con- 
quering citadels  and  reigning  where  they  are  fit  to  reign. 
If  a  man  is  to  live  to  any  purpose,  play  must  be  given  to 
his  original  vigour,  however  much  or  little  there  is  of  it. 
Here,  then,  we  find  a  necessity  belonging  to  the 
spiritual  no  less  than  to  the  earthly  life.  But  there  lies 
close  beside  it  the  shadow  of  temptation  and  sin. 
Thousands  of  people  put  forth  all  their  strength  to 
gain  a  fortress  for  themselves,  leaving  others  to  fight 
the  sons  of  Anak — the  intemperance,  the  unchastity,  the 
atheism  of  the  time.  Instead  of  triumphing  over  the 
earthly,  they  are  ensnared  and  enslaved.  The  truth  is, 
that  a  safe  position  for  ourselves  we  cannot  have  while 
those  sons  of  Anak  ravage  the  country  around.  The 
Divine  call  therefore  often  requires  of  us  that  we  leave  a 
Jerusalem  unconquered  for  ourselves,  while  we  pass  on 
with  the  hosts  of  God  to  do  battle  with  the  public  enemy. 
Time  after  time  Israel,  though  successful  at  Hebron, 
missed  the  secret  and  learnt  in  bitter  sadness  and  loss 
how  near  is  the  shadow  to  the  glory. 


i.i-ii.]    PROBLEMS  OF  SETTLEMENT  AND  WAR.  17 

And  for  any  one  to-day,  what  profits  it  to  be  a 
wealthy  man,  living  in  state  with  all  the  appliances  of 
amusement  and  luxury,  well  knowing,  but  not  choosing 
to  share  the  great  conflicts  between  religion  and  un- 
godliness, between  purity  and  vice  ?  If  the  ignorance 
and  woe  of  our  fellow-creatures  do  not  draw  our  hearts, 
if  we  seek  our  own  things  as  loving  our  own,  if  the 
spiritual  does  not  command  us,  we  shall  certainly  lose 
all  that  makes  life — enthusiasm,  strength,  eternal  joy. 

Give  us  men  who  fling  themselves  into  the  great 
struggle,  doing  what  they  can  with  Christ-born  ardour, 
foot  soldiers  if  nothing  else  m  the  army  of  the  Lord 
of  Righteousness. 


II. 

THE   WAY  OF  THE  SWORD^ 
Judges  i.  12-26. 

THE  name  Kiriath-sepher,  that  is  Book-Town,  has 
been  supposed  to  point  to  the  existence  of  a 
semi-popular  hterature  among  the  pre-Judsean  inhabi- 
tants of  Canaan.  We  cannot  build  with  any  certainty 
upon  a  name ;  but  there  are  other  facts  of  some  signifi- 
cance. Already  the  Phoenicians,  the  merchants  of  the 
age,  some  of  whom  no  doubt  visited  Kiriath-sepher  on 
their  way  to  Arabia  or  settled  in  it,  had  in  their  dealings 
with  Egypt  begun  to  use  that  alphabet  to  which  most 
languages,  from  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  on  through  Greek 
and  Latin  to  our  own,  are  indebted  for  the  idea  and 
shapes  of  letters.  And  it  is  not  improbable  that  an 
old-world  Phoenician  library  of  skins,  palm-leaves  or 
inscribed  tablets  had  given  distinction  to  this  town 
lying  a.way  towards  the  desert  from  Hebron.  Written 
words  were  held  in  half-superstitious  veneration,  and 
a  very  few  records  would  greatly  impress  a  district 
peopled  chiefly  by  wandering  tribes. 

Nothing  is  insignificant  in  the  pages  of  the  Bible, 
nothing  is  to  be  disregarded  that  throws  the  least  light 
upor  human  affairs  and  Divine  Providence ;  and  here 
we  nave  a  suggestion  of  no  slight  importance.  Doubt 
has  been  cast  on  the  existence  of  a  written  language 


i.  12-26.]  THE    WAY  OF  THE  SWORD,  19 

among  the  Hebrews  till  centuries  after  the  Exodus. 
It  has  been  denied  that  the  Law  could  have  been 
written  out  by  Moses.  The  difficulty  is  now  seen  to 
be  imaginary,  like  many  others  that  have  been  raised. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Phoenicians  trading  to  Egypt  in 
the  time  of  the  Hyksos  kings  had  settlements  quite 
contiguous  to  Goshen.  What  more  likely  than  that 
the  Hebrews,  who  spoke  a  language  akin  to  the  Phoe- 
nician, should  have  shared  the  discovery  of  letters 
almost  from  the  first,  and  practised  the  art  of  writing  in 
the  days  of  their  favour  with  the  monarchs  of  the  Nile 
valley  ?  The  oppression  of  the  following  period  might 
prevent  the  spread  of  letters  among  the  people ;  but  a 
man  like  Moses  must  have  seen  their  value  and  made 
himself  familiar  with  their  use.  The  importance  of 
this  indication  in  the  study  of  Hebrew  law  and  faith  is 
very  plain.  Nor  should  we  fail  to  notice  the  interest- 
ing connection  between  the  Divine  lawgiving  of  Moses 
and  the  practical  invention  of  a  worldly  race.  There 
is  no  exclusiveness  in  the  providence  of  God.  The 
art  of  a  people,  acute  and  eager  indeed,  but  without 
spirituality,  is  not  rejected  as  profane  by  the  inspired 
leader  of  Israel.  Egyptians  and  Phoenicians  have  their 
share  in  originating  that  culture  which  mingles  its 
stream  with  sacred  revelation  and  religion.  As,  long 
afterwards,  there  came  the  printing-press,  a  product  of 
human  skill  and  science,  and  by  its  help  the  Refor- 
mation spread  and  grew  and  filled  Europe  with  new 
thought,  so  for  the  early  record  of  God's  work  and  will 
human  genius  furnished  the  fit  instrument.  Letters 
and  religion,  culture  and  faith  must  needs  go  hand  in 
hand.  The  more  the  minds  of  men  are  trained,  the 
more  deftly  they  can  use  literature  and  science,  the 
more  able  they  should  be  to  receive  and  convey  the 


20  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

spiritual  message  which  the  Bible  contains.  Culture 
which  does  not  have  this  effect  betrays  its  own  petti- 
ness and  parochialism  ;  and  when  we  are  provoked  to 
ask  whether  human  learning  is  not  a  foe  to  religion, 
the  reason  must  be  that  the  favourite  studies  of  the 
time  are  shallow,  aimless  and  ignoble. 

Kiriath-sepher  has  to  be  taken.  Its  inhabitants, 
strongly  entrenched,  threaten  the  people  who  are 
settHng  about  Hebron  and  must  be  subdued ;  and 
Caleb,  who  has  come  to  his  possession,  adopts  a 
common  expedient  for  rousing  the  ambitious  young 
men  of  the  tribe.  He  has  a  daughter,  and  marriage 
with  her  shall  reward  the  man  who  takes  the  fortress. 
It  is  not  likely  that  Achsah  objected.  A  courageous 
and  capable  husband  was,  we  may  say,  a  necessity,  and 
her  father's  proposal  offered  a  practical  way  of  settling 
her  in  safety  and  comfort.  Customs  which  appear  to 
us  barbarous  and  almost  insulting  have  no  doubt 
justified  themselves  to  the  common-sense,  if  not  fully  to 
the  desires  of  women,  because  they  were  suited  to  the 
exigencies  of  life  in  rude  and  stormy  times.  There  is 
this  also,  that  the  conquest  of  Kiriath-sepher  was  part 
of  the  great  task  in  which  Israel  was  engaged,  and 
Achsah,  as  a  patriotic  daughter  of  Abraham,  would  feel 
the  pride  of  being  able  to  reward  a  hero  of  the  sacred 
war.  To  the  degree  in  which  she  was  a  woman  of 
character  this  would  balance  other  considerations. 
Still  the  custom  is  not  an  ideal  one ;  there  is  too  much 
uncertainty.  While  the  rivalry  for  her  hand  is  going 
on  the  maiden  has  to  wait  at  home,  wondering  what 
her  fate  shall  be,  instead  of  helping  to  decide  it  by  her 
own  thought  and  action.  The  young  man,  again,  does 
not  commend  himself  by  honour,  but  only  by  courage 


i.  12-26.]  THE    WAY  OF    THE  SWORD.  21 

and  skill.  Yet  the  test  is  real,  so  far  as  it  goes,  and 
fits  the  time. 

Achsah,  no  doubt,  had  her  preference  and  her  hope, 
though  she  dared  not  speak  of  them.  As  for  modern 
feeling,  it  is  professedly  on  the  side  of  the  heart  in  such 
a  case,  and  modern  Hterature,  with  a  thousand  deft 
illustrations,  proclaims  the  right  of  the  heart  to  its 
choice.  We  call  it  a  barbarous  custom,  the  disposition 
of  a  woman  by  her  father,  apart  from  her  preference, 
to  one  who  does  him  or  the  community  a  service ;  and 
although  Achsah  consented,  we  feel  that  she  was  a 
slave.  No  doubt  the  Hebrew  wife  in  her  home  had  a 
place  of  influence  and  power,  and  a  woman  might  even 
come  to  exercise  authority  among  the  tribes ;  but,  to 
begin  with,  she  was  under  authority  and  had  to  subdue 
her  own  wishes  in  a  manner  we  consider  quite  incom- 
patible with  the  rights  of  a  human  being.  Very  slowly 
do  the  customs  of  marriage  even  in  Israel  rise  from  the 
rudeness  of  savage  life.  Abraham  and  Sarah,  long 
before  this,  lived  on  something  like  equality,  he  a  prince, 
she  a  princess.  But  what  can  be  said  of  Hagar,  a 
concubine  outside  the  home-circle,  who  might  be  sent 
any  day  into  the  wilderness  ?  David  and  Solomon 
afterwards  can  marry  for  state  reasons,  can  take,  in 
pure  Oriental  fashion,  the  one  his  tens,  the  other  his 
hundreds  of  wives  and  concubines.  Polygamy  survives 
for  many  a  century.  When  that  is  seen  to  be  evil, 
there  remains  to  men  a  freedom  of  divorce  which  of 
necessity  keeps  women  in  a  low  and  unhonoured 
state. 

Yet,  thus  treated,  woman  has  always  duties  of  the 
first  importance,  on  which  the  moral  health  and  vigour 
of  the  race  depend ;  and  right  nobly  must  many  a 
Hebrew  wife  and  mother  have  fulfilled  the  trust.     It 


23  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

is  a  pathetic  story ;  but  now,  perhaps,  we  are  in  sight 
of  an  age  when  the  injustice  done  to  women  may  be 
replaced  by  an  injustice  they  do  to  themselves.  Liberty 
is  their  right,  but  the  old  duties  remain  as  great  as  ever. 
If  neither  patriotism,  nor  religion,  nor  the  home  is  to 
be  regarded,  but  mere  taste ;  if  freedom  becomes  license 
to  know  and  enjoy,  there  will  be  another  slavery  worse 
than  the  former.  Without  a  very  keen  sense  of  Chris- 
tian honour  and  obligation  among  women,  their  enfran- 
chisement will  be  the  loss  of  what  has  held  society 
together  and  made  nations  strong.  And  looking  at  the 
way  in  which  marriage  is  frequently  arranged  by  the 
free  consent  and  determination  of  women,  is  there  much 
advance  on  the  old  barbarism  ?  How  often  do  they 
sell  themselves  to  the  fortunate,  rather  than  reserve 
themselves  for  the  fit ;  how  often  do  they  marry  not 
because  a  helpmeet  of  the  soul  has  been  found,  but 
because  audacity  has  won  them  or  jewels  have  dazzled  ; 
because  a  fireside  is  offered,  not  because  the  ideal  of 
life  may  be  realized.  True,  in  the  worldliness  there  is  a 
strain  of  moral  effort  often  pathetic  enough.  Women 
are  skilful  at  making  the  best  of  circumstances,  and 
even  when  the  gilding  fades  from  the  life  they  have 
chosen  they  will  struggle  on  with  wonderful  resolution 
to  maintain  something  like  order  and  beauty.  The 
Othniel  who  has  gained  Achsah  by  some  feat  of 
mercantile  success  or  showy  talk  may  turn  out  a  poor 
pretender  to  bravery  or  wit ;  but  she  will  do  her  best 
for  him,  cover  up  his  faults,  beg  springs  of  water  or 
even  dig  them  with  her  own  hands.  Let  men  thank 
God  that  it  is  so,  and  let  them  help  her  to  find  her 
right  place,  her  proper  kingdom  and  liberty. 

There  is  another  aspect  of  the  picture,  however,  as 
it  unfolds  itself.     The  success  of  Othniel  in  his  attack 


i.  12-26.]  THE    WAY  OF  THE  SWORD.  23 

on  Kiriath-sepher  gave  him  at  once  a  good  place  as  a 
leader,  and  a  wife  who  was  ready  to  make  his  interests 
her  own  and  help  him  to  social  position  and  wealth. 
Her  first  care  was  to  acquire  a  piece  of  land  suitable 
for  the  flocks  and  herds  she  saw  in  prospect,  well 
watered  if  possible, — in  short,  an  excellent  sheep-farm. 
Returning  from  the  bridal  journey,  she  had  her  stratagem 
ready,  and  when  she  came  near  her  father's  tent 
followed  up  her  husband's  request  for  the  land  by 
lighting  eagerly  from  her  ass,  taking  for  granted  the 
one  gift,  and  pressing  a  further  petition — "  Give  me  a 
blessing,  father.  A  south  land  thou  hast  bestowed, 
give  me  also  wells  of  water."  So,  without  more  ado, 
the  new  Kenazite  homestead  was  secured. 

How  Jewish,  we  may  be  disposed  to  say.  May  we 
not  also  say.  How  thoroughly  British  ?  The  virtue  of 
Achsah,  is  it  not  the  virtue  of  a  true  British  wife  ?  To 
urge  her  husband  on  and  up  in  the  social  scale,  to  aid 
him  in  every  point  of  the  contest  for  wealth  and  place, 
to  raise  him  and  rise  with  him,  what  can  be  more 
admirable  ?  Are  there  opportunities  of  gaining  the 
favour  of  the  powerful  who  have  offices  to  give,  the 
liking  of  the  wealthy  who  have  fortunes  to  bequeath  ? 
The  managing  wife  will  use  these  opportunities  with 
address  and  courage.  She  will  light  off  her  ass  and 
bow  humbly  before  a  flattered  great  man  to  whom  she 
prefers  a  request.  She  can  fit  her  words  to  the  occasion 
and  her  smiles  to  the  end  in  view.  It  is  a  poor  spirit 
that  is  content  with  anything  short  of  all  that  may  be 
had :  thus  in  brief  she  might  express  her  principle  of 
duty.  And  so  in  ten  thousand  homes  there  is  no  ques- 
tion whether  marriage  is  a  failure.  It  has  succeeded. 
There  is  a  combination  of  man's  strength  and  woman's 
wit  for  the  great  end  of  "  getting  on."    And  in  ten  thou- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 


sand  others  there  is  no  thought  more  constantly  present 
to  the  minds  of  husband  and  wife  than  that  marriage 
is  a  failure.  For  restless  ingenuity  and  many  schemes 
have  yielded  nothing.  The  husband  has  been  too  slow 
or  too  honest,  and  the  wife  has  been  foiled ;  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  woman  has  not  seconded  the  man,  has 
not  risen  with  him.  She  has  kept  him  down  by  her 
failings ;  or  she  is  the  same  simple-minded,  homely 
person  he  wedded  long  ago,  no  fit  mate,  of  course,  for 
one  who  is  the  companion  of  magnates  and  rulers. 
Well  may  those  who  long  for  a  reformation  begin  by 
seeking  a  return  to  simplicity  of  life  and  the  relish  for 
other  kinds  of  distinction  than  lavish  outlay  and  social 
notoriety  can  give.  Until  married  ambition  is  fed  and 
hallowed  at  the  Christian  altar  there  will  be  the  same 
failures  we  see  now,  and  the  same  successes  which 
are  worse  than  '^  failures." 

For  a  moment  the  history  gives  us  a  glimpse  of 
another  domestic  settlement.  ''The  children  of  the 
Kenite  went  up  from  the  City  of  Palm  Trees  with  the 
children  of  Judah,"  and  found  a  place  of  abode  on  the 
southern  fringe  of  Simeon's  territory,  and  there  they 
seem  to  have  gradually  mingled  with  the  tent-dwellers 
of  the  desert.  By-and-by  we  shall  find  one  Heber  the 
Kenite  in  a  different  part  of  the  land,  near  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  still  in  touch  with  the  Israelites  to  some  extent, 
while  his  people  are  scattered.  Heber  may  have  felt 
the  power  of  Israel's  mission  and  career  and  judged  it 
wise  to  separate  from  those  who  had  no  interest  in  the 
tribes  of  Jehovah.  The  Kenites  of  the  south  appear  in 
the  history  like  men  upon  a  raft,  once  borne  near  shore, 
who  fail  to  seize  the  hour  of  deliverance  and  are  carried 
away  again  to  the  wastes  of  sea.     They  are  part  of  the 


i.  12-26.]  THE    WAY  OF  THE  SWORD.  25 

drifting  population  that  surrounds  the  Hebrew  church, 
type  of  the  drifting  multitude  who  in  the  nomadism  of 
modern  society  are  for  a  time  seen  in  our  Christian 
assemblies,  then  pass  away  to  mingle  with  the  careless. 
An  innate  restlessness  and  a  want  of  serious  purpose 
mark  the  class.  To  settle  these  wanderers  in  orderly 
religious  life  seems  almost  impossible ;  we  can  perhaps 
only  expect  to  sow  among  them  seeds  of  good,  and  to 
make  them  feel  a  Divine  presence  restraining  from  evil. 
The  assertion  of  personal  independence  in  our  day  has 
no  doubt  much  to  do  with  impatience  of  church  bonds 
and  habits  of  worship  ;  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  this  is  a  phase  of  growing  life  needing  forbear- 
ance no  less  than  firm  example. 

Zephath  was  the  next  fortress  against  which  Judah 
and  Simeon  directed  their  arms.  When  the  tribes 
were  in  the  desert  on  their  long  and  difficult  march 
they  attempted  first  to  enter  Canaan  from  the  south, 
and  actually  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  this  town. 
But,  as  we  read  in  the  Book  of  Numbers,  Arad  the  king 
of  Zephath  fought  against  them  and  took  some  of  them 
prisoners.  The  defeat  appears  to  have  been  serious, 
for,  arrested  and  disheartened  by  it,  Israel  turned 
southward  again,  and  after  a  long  detour  reached 
Canaan  another  way.  In  the  passage  in  Numbers  the 
overthrow  of  Zephath  is  described  by  anticipation  ; 
in  Judges  we  have  the  account  in  its  proper  historical 
place.  The  people  whom  Arad  ruled  were,  we  may 
suppose,  an  Edomite  clan  living  partly  by  merchandise, 
mainly  by  foray,  practised  marauders,  with  difficulty 
guarded  against,  who  having  taken  their  prey  disap- 
peared swiftly  amongst  the  hills. 

In  the  world  of  thought  and  feeling  there  are  many 


26  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Zephaths,  whence  quick  outset  is  often  made  upon  the 
faith  and  hope  of  men.  We  are  pressing  towards  some 
end,  mastering  difficulties,  contending  with  open  and 
known  enemies.  Only  a  little  way  remains  before  us. 
But  invisible  among  the  intricacies  of  experience  is 
this  lurking  foe  who  suddenly  falls  upon  us.  It  is  a 
settlement  in  the  faith  of  God  we  seek.  The  onset  is 
of  doubts  we  had  not  imagined,  doubts  of  inspiration, 
of  immortality,  of  the  incarnation,  truths  the  most  vital. 
We  are  repulsed,  broken,  disheartened.  There  remains 
a  new  wilderness  journey  till  we  reach  by  the  way  of 
Moab  the  fords  of  our  Jordan  and  the  land  of  our 
inheritance.  Yet  there  is  a  way,  sure  and  appointed. 
The  baffled,  wounded  soul  is  never  to  despair.  And 
when  at  length  the  settlement  of  faith  is  won,  the 
Zephath  of  doubt  may  be  assailed  from  the  other  side, 
assailed  successfully  and  taken.  The  experience  of 
some  poor  victims  of  what  is  oddly  called  philosophic 
doubt  need  dismay  no  one.  For  the  resolute  seeker 
after  God  there  is  always  a  victory,  which  in  the  end 
may  prove  so  easy,  so  complete,  as  to  amaze  him.  The 
captured  Zephath  is  not  destroyed  nor  abandoned,  but 
is  held  as  a  fortress  of  faith.  It  becomes  Hormah — 
the  Consecrated. 

Victories  were  gained  by  Judah  in  the  land  of  the 
Philistines,  partial  victories,  the  results  of  which  were 
not  kept.  Gaza,  Ashkelon,  Ekron  were  occupied  for  a 
time ;  but  Philistine  force  and  doggedness  recovered, 
apparently  in  a  few  years,  the  captured  towns. 
Wherever  they  had  their  origin,  these  Philistines  were 
a  strong  and  stubborn  race,  and  so  different  from  the 
Israelites  in  habit  and  language  that  they  never  freely 
mingled  nor  even  lived  peaceably  with  the  tribes.     At 


i.  12-26.]  THE    WAY  OF  THE  SWORD.  27 

this  time  they  were  probably  forming  their  settlements 
on  the  Mediterranean  seaboard,  and  were  scarcely  able 
to  resist  the  men  of  Judah.  But  ship  after  ship  from 
over  sea,  perhaps  from  Crete,  brought  new  colonists ; 
and  during  the  whole  period  till  the  Captivity  they  were 
a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  Hebrews.  Beside  these, 
there  were  other  dwellers  in  the  lowlands,  who  were 
equipped  in  a  way  that  made  it  difficult  to  meet  them. 
The  most  vehement  sally  of  men  on  foot  could  not 
break  the  line  of  iron  chariots,  thundering  over  the 
plain.  It  was  in  the  hill  districts  that  the  tribes  gained 
their  surest  footing, — a  singular  fact,  for  mountain  people 
are  usually  hardest  to  defeat  and  dispossess ;  and  we 
take  it  as  a  sign  of  remarkable  vigour  that  the  invaders 
so  soon  occupied  the  heights. 

Here  the  spiritual  parallel  is  instructive.  Conversion, 
it  may  be  said,  carries  the  soul  with  a  rush  to  the  high 
ground  of  faith.  The  Great  Leader  has  gone  before 
preparing  the  way.  We  climb  rapidly  to  fortresses 
from  which  the  enemy  has  fled,  and  it  would  seem  that 
victory  is  complete.  But  the  Christian  life  is  a  constant 
alternation  between  the  joy  of  the  conquered  height 
and  the  stern  battles  of  the  foe- infested  plain.  Worldly 
custom  and  sensuous  desire,  greed  and  envy  and  base 
appetite  have  their  cities  and  chariots  in  the  low  ground 
of  being.  So  long  as  one  of  them  remains  the  victory 
of  faith  is  unfinished,  insecure.  Piety  that  believes 
itself  delivered  once  for  all  from  conflict  is  ever  on  the 
verge  of  disaster.  The  peace  and  joy  men  cherish, 
while  as  yet  the  earthly  nature  is  unsubdued,  the  very 
citadels  of  it  unreconnoitred,  are  visionary  and  relaxing. 
For  the  soul  and  for  society  the  only  salvation  lies  in 
mortal  combat — life-long,  age-long  combat  with  the 
earthly  and  the  false.     Nooks  enough  may  be  found 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

among  the  hills,  pleasant  and  calm,  from  which  the 
low  ground  cannot  be  seen,  where  the  roll  of  the  iron 
chariots  is  scarcely  heard.  It  may  seem  to  imperil  all 
if  we  descend  from  these  retreats.  But  when  we  have 
gained  strength  in  the  mountain  air  it  is  for  the  battle 
down  below,  it  is  that  we  may  advance  the  lines  of 
redeemed  life  and  gain  new  bases  for  sacred  enterprise. 

A  mark  of  the  humanness  and,  shall  we  not  also 
say,  the  divineness  of  this  history  is  to  be  found  in 
the  frequent  notices  of  other  tribes  than  those  of  Israel. 
To  the  inspired  writer  it  is  not  all  the  same  whether 
Canaanites  die  or  Hve,  what  becomes  of  Phoenicians  or 
Philistines.  Of  this  we  have  two  examples,  one  the 
case  of  the  Jebusites,  the  other  of  the  people  of  Luz. 

The  Jebusites,  after  the  capture  of  the  lower  city 
already  recorded,  appear  to  have  been  left  in  peaceful 
possession  of  their  citadel  and  accepted  as  neighbours 
by  the  Benjamites.  When  the  Book  of  Judges  was 
written  Jebusite  families  still  remained,  and  in  David's 
time  Araunah  the  Jebusite  was  a  conspicuous  figure. 
A  series  of  terrible  events  connected  with  the  history 
of  Benjamin  is  narrated  towards  the  end  of  the  Book. 
It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  the  crime  which  led  to 
these  events  was  in  any  way  due  to  bad  influence 
exercised  by  the  Jebusites.  We  may  charitably  doubt 
whether  it  was.  There  is  no  indication  that  they  were 
a  depraved  people.  If  they  had  been  licentious  they 
could  scarcely  have  retained  till  David's  time  a  strong- 
hold so  central  and  of  so  much  consequence  in  the  land. 
They  were  a  mountain  clan,  and  Araunah  shows  himself 
in  contact  with  David  a  reverend  and  kingly  person. 

As  for  Bethel  or  Luz,  around  which  gathered  notable 
associations  of  Jacob's  life,  Ephraim,  in  whose  territory 


i.  12-26.]  THE   WA  Y  OF  THE  SWORD,  29 

it  lay,  adopted  a  stratagem  in  order  to  master  it,  and 
smote  the  city.  One  family  alone,  the  head  of  which 
had  betrayed  the  place,  was  allowed  to  depart  in  peace, 
and  a  new  Luz  was  founded  '^  in  the  land  of  the 
Hittites."  We  are  inclined  to  regard  the  traitor  as 
deserving  of  death,  and  Ephraim  appears  to  us  dis- 
graced, not  honoured,  by  its  exploit.  There  is  a  fair, 
straightforward  way  of  fighting;  but  this  tribe,  one  of 
the  strongest,  chooses  a  mean  and  treacherous  method 
of  gaining  its  end.  Are  we  mistaken  in  thinking  that 
the  care  with  which  the  founding  of  the  new  city  is 
described  shows  the  writer's  sympathy  with  the  Luz- 
zites  ?  At  any  rate,  he  does  not  by  one  word  justify 
Ephraim ;  and  we  do  not  feel  called  on  to  restrain  our 
indignation. 

The  high  ideal  of  life,  how  often  it  fades  from  our 
view  I  There  are  times  when  we  realize  our  Divine 
calling,  when  the  strain  of  it  is  felt  and  the  soul  is  on 
fire  with  sacred  zeal.  We  press  on,  fight  on,  true  to 
the  highest  we  know  at  every  step.  We  are  chivalrous, 
for  we  see  the  chivalry  of  Christ;  we  are  tender  and 
faithful,  for  we  see  His  tenderness  and  faithfulness. 
Then  we  make  progress;  the  goal  can  almost  be 
touched.  We  love,  and  love  bears  us  on.  We  aspire, 
and  the  world  glows  with  light.  But  there  comes  a 
change.  The  thought  of  self-preservation,  of  selfish 
gain,  has  intruded.  On  pretext  of  serving  God  we  are 
hard  to  man,  we  keep  back  the  truth,  we  use  compro- 
mises, we  descend  even  to  treachery  and  do  things 
which  in  another  are  abominable  to  us.  So  the  fervour 
departs,  the  light  fades  from  the  world,  the  goal  recedes, 
becomes  invisible.  Most  strange  of  all  is  it  that  side 
by  side  with  cultured  religion  there  can  be  proud 
sophistry  and  ignorant  scorn,  the  very  treachery  of  the 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

intellect  towards  man.  Far  away  in  the  dimness  of 
Israel's  early  days  we  see  the  beginnings  of  a  pious 
inhumanity,  that  may  well  make  us  stay  to  fear  lest 
the  like  should  be  growing  among  ourselves.  It  is  not 
what  men  claim,  much  less  what  they  seize  and  hold, 
that  does  them  honour.  Here  and  there  a  march  may 
be  stolen  on  rivals  by  those  who  firmly  believe  they 
are  serving  God.  But  the  rights  of  a  man,  a  tribe,  a 
church  lie  side  by  side  with  duties;  and  neglect  of 
duty  destroys  the  claim  to  what  otherwise  would  be  a 
right.  Let  there  be  no  mistake :  power  and  gain  are 
not  allowed  in  the  providence  of  God  to  anyone  that 
he  may  grasp  them  in  despite  of  justice  or  charity. 

One  thought  may  link  the  various  episodes  we  have 
considered.  It  is  that  of  the  end  for  which  individu- 
ality exists.  The  home  has  its  development  of  personality 
— for  service.  The  peace  and  joy  of  religion  nourish 
the  soul — for  service.  Life  may  be  conquered  in 
various  regions,  and  a  man  grow  fit  for  ever  greater 
victories,  ever  nobler  service.  But  with  the  end  the 
means  and  spirit  of  each  effort  are  so  interwoven  that 
alike  in  home,  and  church,  and  society  the  human  soul 
must  move  in  uttermost  faithfulness  and  simplicity  or 
fail  from  the  Divine  victory  that  wins  the  prize. 


III. 

4r  BOCniM;  TBS   FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE. 
JuD«!c8s  ii.  1-5. 

FROM  the  time  of  Abraham  on  to  the  settlement  in 
Canaan  the  IsraeHtes  had  kept  the  faith  of  the 
one  God.  They  had  their  origin  as  a  people  in  a 
decisive  revolt  against  polytheism.  Of  the  great 
Semite  forefather  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  has  been 
finely  said,  **  He  bore  upon  his  forehead  the  seal  of 
the  Absolute  God,  upon  which  was  written,  This 
race  will  rid  the  earth  of  superstition."  The  cha- 
racter and  structure  of  the  Hebrew  tongue  resisted 
idolatry.  It  was  not  an  imaginative  language ;  it  had 
no  mythological  colour.  We  who  have  inherited  an 
ancient  culture  of  quite  another  kind  do  not  think  it 
strange  to  read  or  sing  : 

"  Hail,  smiling  morn,  that  tip'st  the  hills  with  gold, 
Whose  rosy  fingers  ope  the  gates  of  day, 
Who  the  gay  face  of  nature  dost  unfold, 

At  whose  bright  presence  darkness  flies  away,* 

These  lines,  however,  are  full  of  latent  mythology. 
The  "  smihng  morn  "  is  Aurora,  the  darkness  that  flies 
away  before  the  dawn  is  the  Erebus  of  the  Greeks. 
Nothing  of  this  sort  was  possible  in  Hebrew  literature. 
In  it  all  change,  all  life,  every  natural  incident  are 
ascribed  to  the  will  and  power  of  one  Supreme  Being. 


32  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

"  Jehovah  thundered  in  the  heavens  and  the  Highest 
gave  His  voice,  hailstones  and  coals  of  fire."  *'  By  the 
breath  of  God  ice  is  given,  and  the  breadth  of  the 
waters  is  straitened."  "  Behold,  He  spreadeth  His 
light  around  Him  ;  ...  He  covereth  His  hands  with 
the  lightning."  "  Thou  makest  darkness  and  it  is 
night."  Always  in  forms  like  these  Hebrew  poetry  sets 
forth  the  control  of  natuie  by  its  invisible  King.  The 
pious  word  of  Fenelon,  "What  do  I  see  in  nature? 
God ;  God  everywhere ;  God  alone,"  had  its  germ,  its 
very  substance,  in  the  faith  and  language  of  patriarchal 
times. 

There  are  some  who  allege  that  this  simple  faith 
in  one  God,  sole  Origin  and  Ruler  of  nature  and  life, 
impoverished  the  thought  and  speech  of  the  Hebrews. 
It  was  in  reality  the  spring  and  safeguard  of  their 
spiritual  destiny.  Their  very  language  was  a  sacred 
inheritance  and  preparation.  From  age  to  age  it 
served  a  Divine  purpose  in  maintaining  the  idea  'of  the 
unity  of  God ;  and  the  power  of  that  idea  never  failed 
their  prophets  nor  passed  from  the  soul  of  the  race. 
The  whole  of  Israel's  literature  sets  forth  the  universal 
sway  and  eternal  righteousness  of  Him  who  dwells 
in  the  high  and  lofty  place,  Whose  name  is  Holy.  In 
canto  and  strophe  of  the  great  Divine  Poem,  the  glory 
of  the  One  Supreme  burns  with  increasing  clearness, 
till  in  Christ  its  finest  radiance  flashes  upon  the  world. 

While  the  Hebrews  were  in  Egypt,  the  faith  inherited 
from  patriarchal  times  must  have  been  sorely  tried,  and, 
all  circumstances  considered,  it  came  forth  wonderfully 
pure.  "The  Israelites  saw  Egypt  as  the  Mussulman 
Arab  sees  pagan  countries,  entirely  from  the  outside, 
perceiving  only  the  surface  and  external  things."  They 
indeed  carried  with  them  into  the  desert  the  recollection 


ii.  1-5-]    AT  BOCHIM:  THE  PIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      33 

of  the  sacred  bulls  or  calves  of  which  they  had  seen 
images  at  Hathor  and  Memphis.  But  the  idol  they 
made  at  Horeb  was  intended  to  represent  their  Deliverer, 
the  true  God,  and  the  swift  and  stern  repression  by 
Moses  of  that  symbolism  and  its  pagan  incidents 
appears  to  have  been  effectual.  The  tribes  reached 
Canaan  substantially  free  from  idolatry,  though  tera- 
phim  or  fetishes  may  have  been  used  in  secret  with 
magical  ceremonies.  The  religion  of  the  people  gene- 
rally was  far  from  spiritual,  yet  there  was  a  real  faith 
in  Jehovah  as  the  protector  of  the  national  life,  the 
guardian  of  justice  and  truth.  From  this  there  was  no 
falling  away  when  the  Reubenites  and  Gadites  on  the 
east  of  Jordan  erected  an  altar  for  themselves.  *'The 
Lord  God  of  gods,"  they  said,  "  He  knoweth,  and  Israel 
he  shall  know  if  it  be  in  rebellion,  or  if  in  transgression 
against  the  Lord."  The  altar  was  called  Ed^  a  witness 
between  east  and  west  that  the  faith  of  the  one  Living 
God  was  still  to  unite  the  tribes. 

But  the  danger  to  Israel's  fidelity  came  when  there 
began  to  be  intercourse  with  the  people  of  Canaan,  now 
sunk  from  the  purer  thought  of  early  times.  Every- 
where in  the  land  of  the  Hittites  and  Amorites,  Hivites 
and  Jebusites,  there  were  altars  and  sacred  trees,  pillars 
and  images  used  in  idolatrous  worship.  The  ark  and 
the  altar  of  Divine  religion,  established  first  at  Gilgal 
near  Jericho,  afterward^  at  Bethel  and  then  at  Shiloh, 
could  not  be  frequently  visited,  especially  by  those  who 
settled  towards  the  southern  desert  and  in  the  far 
north.  Yet  the  necessity  for  religious  w^orship  of  some 
kind  was  constantly  felt ;  and  as  afterwards  the  syna- 
gogues gave  opportunity  for  devotional  gatherings 
when  the  Temple  could  not  be  reached,  so  in  the  earlier 
time  there  came  to  be  sacred  observances  on  elevated 

3 


34  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES 

places,  a  windy  threshing-floor,  or  a  hill-top  already  used 
for  heathen  sacrifice.  Hence,  on  the  one  hand,  there 
was  the  danger  that  worship  might  be  entirely  neglected, 
on  the  other  hand  the  grave  risk  that  the  use  of  heathen 
occasions  and  meeting-places  should  lead  to  heathen 
ritual,  and  those  who  came  together  on  the  hill  of  Baal 
should  forget  Jehovah.  It  was  the  latter  evil  that 
grew;  and  while  as  yet  only  a  few  Hebrews  easily 
led  astray  had  approached  with  kid  or  lamb  a  pagan 
altar,  the  alarm  was  raised.  At  Bochim  a  Divine 
warning  was  uttered  which  found  echo  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  great  gathering  of  the 
tribes  at  some  spot  near  Bethel.  We  see  the  elders 
and  heads  of  families  holding  council  of  war  and 
administration,  the  thoughts  of  all  bent  on  conquest 
and  family  settlement.  Religion,  the  purity  of  Jehovah's 
worship,  are  forgotten  in  the  business  of  the  hour. 
How  shall  the  tribes  best  help  each  other  in  the 
struggle  that  is  already  proving  more  arduous  than 
they  expected  ?  Dan  is  sorely  pressed  by  the  Amorites. 
The  chiefs  of  the  tribe  are  here  telling  their  story  of 
hardship  among  the  mountains.  The  Asherites  have 
failed  in  their  attack  upon  the  sea-board  towns  Accho 
and  Achzib ;  in  vain  have  they  pressed  towards  Zidon. 
They  are  dwelling  among  the  Canaanites  and  may  soon 
be  reduced  to  slavery.  The  reports  from  other  tribes 
are  more  hopeful;  but  everywhere  the  people  of  the 
land  are  hard  to  overcome.  Should  Israel  not  remain 
content  for  a  time,  make  the  best  of  circumstances, 
cultivate  friendly  intercourse  with  the  population  it 
cannot  dispossess  ?  Such  a  policy  often  commends 
itself  to  those  who  would  be  thought  prudent;  it  is 
apt  to  prove  a  fatal  policy. 


ii.i-5.]    AT  BOCHIM :   THE  FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      35 


Suddenly  a  spiritual  voice  is  heard,  clear  and  intense, 
and  all  others  are  silent.  From  the  sanctuary  of  God 
at  Gilgal  one  comes  whom  the  people  have  not  ex- 
pected ;  he  comes  with  a  message  they  cannot  choose 
but  hear.  It  is  a  prophet  with  the  burden  of  reproof 
and  warning.  Jehovah's  goodness,  Jehovah's  claim  are 
declared  with  Divine  ardour;  with  Divine  severity  the 
neglect  of  the  covenant  is  condemned.  Have  the  tribes 
of  God  begun  to  consort  with  the  people  of  the  land  ? 
Are  they  already  dwelling  content  under  the  shadow  of 
idolatrous  groves,  in  sight  of  the  symbols  of  Ashtoreth  ? 
Are  they  learning  to  swear  by  Baal  and  Melcarth  and 
looking  on  while  sacrifices  are  offered  to  these  vile 
masters  ?  Then  they  can  no  longer  hope  that  Jehovah 
will  give  them  the  country  to  enjoy ;  the  heathen  shall 
remain  as  thorns  in  the  side  of  Israel  and  their  gods 
shall  be  a  snare.  It  is  a  message  of  startling  power. 
From  the  hopes  of  dominion  and  the  plans  of  worldly 
gain  the  people  pass  to  spiritual  concern.  They  have 
offended  their  Lord ;  His  countenance  is  turned  from 
them.  A  feeling  of  guilt  falls  on  the  assembly.  *'  It  came 
to  pass  that  the  people  lifted  up  their  voice  and  wept." 

This  lamentation  at  Bochim  is  the  second  note  of 
religious  feeling  and  faith  in  the  Book  of  Judges.  The 
first  is  the  consultation  of  the  priests  and  the  oracle 
referred  to  in  the  opening  sentence  of  the  book. 
Jehovah  Who  had  led  them  through  the  wilderness  was 
their  King,  and  unless  He  went  forth  as  the  unseen 
Captain  of  the  host  no  success  could  be  looked  for. 
"  They  asked  of  Jehovah,  saying,  Who  shall  go  up  for 
us  first  against  the  Canaanites,  to  fight  against  them  ?  " 
In  this  appeal  there  was  a  measure  of  faith  which  is 
neither  to  be  scorned  nor  suspected.      The  question 


36  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

indeed  was  not  whether  they  should  fight  at  all,  but 
how  they  should  fight  so  as  to  succeed,  and  their  trust 
was  in  a  God  thought  of  as  pledged  to  them,  solely 
concerned  for  them.  So  far  accordingly  there  is  nothing 
exemplary  in  the  circumstances.  Yet  we  find  a  lesson 
for  Christian  nations.  There  are  many  in  our  modern 
parliaments  who  are  quite  ready  to  vote  national  prayer 
in  war-time  and  thanksgiving  for  victories,  who  yet 
would  never  think,  before  undertaking  a  war,  of  con- 
sulting those  best  qualified  to  interpret  the  Divine  will. 
The  relation  between  religion  and  the  state  has  this  fatal 
hitch,  that  however  Christian  our  governments  profess 
to  be,  the  Christian  thinkers  of  the  country  are  not 
consulted  on  moral  questions,  not  even  on  a  question 
so  momentous  as  that  of  war.  It  is  passion,  pride,  or 
diplomacy,  never  the  wisdom  of  Christ,  that  leads  nations 
in  the  critical  moments  of  their  history.  Who  then 
scorn,  who  suspect  the  early  Hebrew  belief?  Those 
only  who  have  no  right ;  those  who  as  they  laugh  at 
God  and  faith  shut  themselves  from  the  knowledge 
by  which  alone  life  can  be  understood ;  and,  again, 
those  who  in  their  own  ignorance  and  pride  unsheathe 
the  sword  without  reference  to  Him  in  Whom  they 
profess  to  believe.  We  admit  none  of  these  to  criticise 
Israel  and  its  faith. 

At  Bochim,  where  the  second  note  of  religious  feeling 
is  struck,  a  deeper  and  clearer  note,  we  find  the  prophet 
listened  to.  He  revives  the  sense  of  duty,  he  kindles 
a  Divine  sorrow  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The 
national  assembly  is  conscience-stricken.  Let  us 
allow  this  quick  contrition  to  be  the  result,  in  part, 
of  superstitious  fear.  Very  rarely  is  spiritual  concern 
quite  pure.  In  general  it  is  the  consequences  of  trans- 
gression rather  than  the  evil  of  it  that  press  on  the 


ii.i-5.]    ATBOCHIM:   THE  FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      37 

minds  of  men.  Forebodings  of  trouble  and  calamity 
are  more  commonly  causes  of  sorrow  than  the  loss  of 
fellowship  with  God ;  and  if  we  know  this  to  be  the 
case  with  many  who  are  convicted  of  sin  under  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  we  cannot  wonder  to  find  the 
penitence  of  old  Hebrew  times  mingled  with  supersti- 
tion. Nevertheless,  the  people  are  aware  of  the  broken 
covenant,  burdened  with  a  sense  that  they  have  lost 
the  favour  of  their  unseen  Guide.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  realization  of  sin  and  of  justice  turned 
against  them  is  one  cause  of  their  tears. 

Here,  again,  if  there  is  a  difference  between  Israel 
and  Christian  nations,  it  is  not  in  favour  of  the  latter. 
Are  modern  senates  ever  overcome  by  conviction  of 
sin  ?  Those  who  are  in  power  seem  to  have  no  fear 
that  they  may  do  wrong.  Glorifying  their  blunders 
and  forgetting  their  errors,  they  find  no  occasion  for 
self-reproach,  no  need  to  sit  in  sackcloth  and  ashes. 
Now  and  then,  indeed,  a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation 
is  ordered  and  observed  in  state  ;  the  sincere  Christian 
for  his  part  feeling  how  miserably  formal  it  is,  how 
far  from  the  spontaneous  expression  of  abasement  and 
remorse.  God  is  called  upon  to  help  a  people  who 
have  not  considered  their  ways,  who  design  no  amend- 
ment, who  have  not  even  suspected  that  the  Divine 
blessing  may  come  in  still  further  humbling.  And 
turning  to  private  life,  is  there  not  as  much  of  self- 
justification,  as  Httle  of  real  humility  and  faith  ?  The 
shallow  nature  of  popular  Christianity  is  seen  here, 
that  so  few  can  read  in  disappointment  and  privation 
anything  but  disaster,  or  submit  without  disgust  and 
rebelHon  to  take  a  lower  place  at  the  table  of  Providence. 
Our  weeping  is  so  often  for  what  we  longed  to  gain  or 
wished  to  keep  in  the  earthly  and  temporal  region,  so 


38  THE  BOOK  OF  /UDGES. 

seldom  for  what  we  have  lost  or  should  fear  to  lose 
in  the  spiritual.  We  grieve  when  we  should  rather 
rejoice  that  God  has  made  us  feel  our  need  of  Him, 
and  called  us  again  to  our  true  blessedness. 

The  scene  at  Bochim  connects  itself  very  notably 
with  one  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years  later.  The  poor 
fragments  of  the  exiled  tribes  have  been  gathered  again 
in  the  land  of  their  fathers.  They  are  rebuilding  Jeru- 
salem and  the  Temple.  Ezra  has  led  back  a  company 
from  Babylon  and  has  brought  with  him,  by  the 
favour  of  Artaxerxes,  no  small  treasure  of  silver  and 
gold  for  the  house  of  God.  To  his  astonishment  and 
grief  he  hears  the  old  tale  of  alliance  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  land,  intermarriage  even  of  Levites,  priests 
and  princes  of  Israel  with  women  of  the  Canaanite 
races.  In  the  new  settlement  of  Palestine  the  error 
of  the  first  is  repeated.  Ezra  calls  a  solemn  assembly 
in  the  Temple  court — "  every  one  that  trembles  at  the 
words  of  the  God  of  Israel."  Till  the  evening  sacrifice 
he  sits  prostrate  with  grief,  his  garment  rent,  his  hair 
torn  and  dishevelled.  Then  on  his  knees  before  the 
Lord  he  spreads  forth  his  hands  in  prayer.  The  tres- 
passes of  a  thousand  years  afflict  him,  afflict  the  faithful. 
''After  all  that  is  come  upon  us  for  our  evil  deeds, 
shall  we  again  break  Thy  commandments,  and  join  in 
affinity  with  the  peoples  that  do  these  abominations  ? 
wouldest  not  Thou  be  angry  with  us  till  Thou  hadst 
consumed  us  so  that  there  should  be  no  remnant  nor 
any  to  escape  ?  .  .  .  Behold  we  are  before  Thee  in 
our  guiltiness ;  for  none  can  stand  before  Thee  because 
of  this."  The  impressive  lament  of  Ezra  and  those 
who  join  in  his  confessions  draws  together  a  great 
congregation,  and  the  people  weep  very  sore. 


ii.i-S.]    AT  BOCHIM :   THE  FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      39 

Nine  centuries  and  a  half  appear  a  long  time  in  the 
history  of  a  nation.  What  has  been  gained  during  the 
period  ?  Is  the  weeping  at  Jerusalem  in  Ezra's  time, 
like  the  weeping  at  Bochim,  a  mark  of  no  deeper  feeling, 
no  keener  penitence  ?  Has  there  been  religious  advance 
commensurate  with  the  discipline  of  suffering,  defeat, 
slaughter  and  exile,  dishonoured  kings,  a  wasted  land  ? 
Have  the  prophets  not  achieved  anything?  Has  not 
the  Temple  in  its  glory,  in  its  desolation,  spoken  of  a 
Heavenly  power,  a  Divine  rule,  the  sense  of  which  enter- 
ing the  souls  of  the  people  has  established  piety,  or  at 
least  a  habit  of  separateness  from  heathen  manners  and 
life  ?  It  may  be  hard  to  distinguish  and  set  forth  the 
gain  of  those  centuries.  But  it  is  certain  that  while  the 
weeping  at  Bochim  was  the  sign  of  a  fear  that  soon 
passed  away,  the  weeping  in  the  Temple  court  marked 
a  new  beginning  in  Hebrew  history.  By  the  strong 
action  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  the  mixed  marriages 
were  dissolved,  and  from  that  time  the  Jewish  people 
became,  as  they  never  were  before,  exclusive  and 
separate.  Where  nature  would  have  led  the  nation 
ceased  to  go.  More  and  more  strictly  the  law  was 
enforced  ;  the  age  of  puritanism  began.  So,  let  us  say, 
the  sore  discipline  had  its  fruit. 

An-d  yet  it  is  with  a  reservation  only  we  can  enjoy 
the  success  of  those  reformers  who  drew  the  sharp  Hne 
between  Israel  and  his  heathen  neighbours,  between 
Jew  and  Gentile.  The  vehemence  of  reaction  urged 
the  nation  towards  another  error —  Pharisaism.  Nothing 
could  be  purer,  nothing  nobler  than  the  desire  to  make 
Israel  a  holy  people.  But  to  inspire  men  with  religious 
zeal  and  yet  preserve  them  from  spiritual  pride  is 
always  difficult,  and  in  truth  those  Hebrew  reformers 
did   not   see  the  danger.     There  came   to  be,  in  the 


40  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

new  development  of  faith,  zeal  enough,  jealousy  enough, 
for  the  purity  of  religion  and  life,  but  along  with  these 
a  contempt  for  the  heathen,  a  fierce  enmity  towards  the 
uncircumcised,  which  made  the  interval  till  Christ 
appeared  a  time  of  strife  and  bloodshed  worse  than  any 
that  had  been  before.  From  the  beginning  the  Hebrews 
were  called  with  a  holy  calling,  and  their  future  was 
bound  up  with  their  faithfulness  to  it.  Their  ideal  was 
to  be  earnest  and  pure,  without  bitterness  or  vainglory ; 
and  that  is  still  the  ideal  of  faith.  But  the  Jewish 
people  like  ourselves,  weak  through  the  flesh,  came 
short  of  the  mark  on  one  side  or  passed  beyond  it 
on  the  other.  During  the  long  period  from  Joshua  to 
Nehemiah  there  was  too  little  heat,  and  then  a  fire 
was  kindled  which  burned  a  sharp  narrow  path,  along 
which  the  life  of  Israel  has  gone  with  ever-lessening 
spiritual  force.  The  unfulfilled  ideal  still  waits,  the 
unique  destiny  of  this  people  of  God  still  bears  them 
on. 

Bochim  is  a  symbol.  There  the  people  wept  for  a 
transgression  but  half  understood  and  a  peril  they  could 
not  rightly  dread.  There  was  genuine  sorrow,  there 
was  genuine  alarm.  But  it  was  the  prophetic  word, 
not  personal  experience,  that  moved  the  assembly.  And 
as  at  Florence,  when  Savonarola's  word,  shaking  with 
alarm  a  people  who  had  no  vision  of  holiness,  left  them 
morally  weaker  as  it  fell  into  silence,  so  the  weeping 
at  Bochim  passed  like  a  tempest  that  has  bowed  and 
broken  the  forest  trees.  The  chiefs  of  Israel  returned 
to  their  settlements  with  a  new  sense  of  duty  and  peril ; 
but  Canaanite  civilization  had  attractions,  Canaanite 
women  a  refinement  which  captivated  the  heart.  And 
the  civilization,  the  refinement,  were  associated  with 
idolatry.    The  myths  of  Canaan,  the  poetry  of  Tammuz 


ii.  i-S-]    AT  BOCHIM :  THE  FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      41 

and  Astarte,  were  fascinating  and  seductive.  We 
wonder  not  that  the  pure  faith  of  God  was  corrupted, 
but  that  it  survived.  In  Egypt  the  heathen  worship 
was  in  a  foreign  tongue,  but  in  Canaan  the  stories  of 
the  gods  were  whispered  to  Israelites  in  a  language 
they  knew,  by  their  own  kith  and  kin.  In  many  a 
home  among  the  mountains  of  Ephraim  or  the  skirts  of 
Lebanon  the  pagan  wife^  with  her  superstitious  fears, 
her  dread  of  the  anger  of  this  god  or  that  goddess, 
wrought  so  on  the  mind  of  the  Jewish  husband  that 
he  began  to  feel  her  dread  and  then  to  permit  and 
share  her  sacrifices.  Thus  idolatry  invaded  Israel, 
and  the  long  and  weary  struggle  between  truth  and 
falsehood  began. 

We  have  spoken  of  Bochim  as  a  symbol,  and  to  us 
it  may  be  the  symbol  of  this,  that  the  very  thing  which 
men  put  from  them  in  horror  and  with  tears,  seeing 
the  evil,  the  danger  of  it,  does  often  insinuate  itself 
into  their  lives.  The  messenger  is  heard,  and  while 
he  speaks  how  near  God  is,  how  awful  is  the  sense 
of  His  being  !  A  thrill  of  keen  feeling  passes  from  soul 
to  soul.  There  are  some  in  the  gathering  who  have 
more  spiritual  insight  than  the  rest,  and  their  presence 
raises  the  heat  of  emotion.  But  the  moment  of  reve- 
lation and  of  fervour  passes,  the  company  breaks 
up,  and  very  soon  those  who  have  won  no  vision  of 
holiness,  who  have  only  feared  as  they  entered  into 
the  cloud,  are  in  the  common  world  again.  The  finer 
strings  of  the  soul  were  made  to  thrill,  the  conscience 
was  touched ;  but  if  the  will  has  not  been  braced,  if  the 
man's  reason  and  resoluteness  are  not  engaged  by  a 
new  conception  of  life,  the  earthly  will  resume  control 
and  God  will  be  less  known  than  before.  So  there  are 
many  cast  down  to-day,  crying  to  God  in  trouble  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 


soul  for  evil  done  or  evil  which  they  are  tempted  to 
do,  who  to-morrow  among  the  Canaanites  will  see 
things  in  another  light.  A  man  cannot  be  a  recluse. 
He  must  mingle  in  business  and  in  society  with  those 
who  deride  the  thoughts  that  have  moved  him  and 
laugh  at  his  seriousness.  The  impulse  to  something 
better  soon  exhausts  itself  in  this  cold  atmosphere. 
He  turns  upon  his  own  emotion  with  contempt.  The 
words  that  came  with  Divine  urgency,  the  man  whose 
face  was  like  that  of  an  angel  of  God,  are  already 
subjects  of  uneasy  jesting,  will  soon  be  thrust  from 
memory.  Over  the  interlude  of  superficial  anxiety  the 
mind  goes  back  to  its  old  haunts,  its  old  plans  and 
cravings.  The  reHgious  teacher,  while  he  is  often  in  no 
way  responsible  for  this  sad  recoil,  should  yet  be  ever 
on  his  guard  against  the  risk  of  weakening  the  moral 
fibre,  of  leaving  men  as  Christ  never  left  them,  flaccid 
and  infirm. 

Again,  there  are  cases  that  belong  not  to  the  history 
of  a  day,  but  to  the  history  of  a  life.  One  may  say, 
when  he  hears  the  strangely  tempting  voices  that 
whisper  in  the  twilight  streets,  ''Am  I  a  dog  that 
from  the  holy  traditions  of  my  people  and  country  I 
should  fall  away  to  these  ?  "  At  first  he  flies  the  dis- 
tasteful entreaty  of  the  new  nature-cult,  its  fleshly  art 
and  song,  its  nefarious  science.  But  the  voices  are 
persistent.  It  is  the  perfecting  of  man  and  woman  to 
which  they  invite.  It  is  not  vice  but  freedom,  bright- 
ness, life  and  the  courage  to  enjoy  it  they  cunningly 
propose.  There  is  not  much  of  sweetness ;  the  voices 
rise,  they  become  stringent  and  overbearing.  If  the 
man  would  not  be  a  fool,  would  not  lose  the  good  of 
the  age  into  which  he  is  born,  he  will  be  done  with 
unnatural   restraints,   the   bondage  of  purity.      Thus 


ii.i-5.]    AT  BOCHIM :  THE  FIRST  PROPHET  VOICE.      43 

entreaty  passes  into  mastery.  Here  is  truth;  there 
also  seems  to  be  fact.  Little  by  little  the  subtle  argu- 
ment is  so  advanced  that  the  degradation  once  feared 
is  no  longer  to  be  seen.  It  is  progress  now;  it  is 
full  development,  the  assertion  of  power  and  privilege, 
that  the  soul  anticipates.  How  fatal  is  the  lure,  how 
treacherous  the  vision,  the  man  discovers  when  he  has 
parted  with  that  which  even  through  deepest  penitence 
he  may  never  regain.  People  are  denying,  and  it  has 
to  be  reasserted  that  there  is  a  covenant  which  the 
soul  of  man  has  to  keep  with  God.  The  thought  is 
"  archaic,"  and  they  would  banish  it.  But  it  stands 
the  great  reality  for  man ;  and  to  keep  that  covenant 
in  the  grace  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  in  the  love  of  the 
holiest,  in  the  sacred  manliness  learned  of  Christ,  is  the 
only  way  to  the  broad  daylight  and  the  free  summits 
of  life.  How  can  nature  be  a  saviour  ?  The  sugges- 
tion is  childish.  Nature,  as  we  all  know,  allows  the 
hypocrite,  the  swindler,  the  traitor,  as  well  as  the  brave, 
honest  man,  the  pure,  sweet  woman.  Is  it  said  that 
man  has  a  covenant  with  nature?  On  the  temporal 
and  prudential  side  of  his  activities  that  is  true.  He 
has  relations  with  nature  which  must  be  apprehended, 
must  be  wisely  realised.  But  the  spiritual  kingdom  to 
which  he  belongs  requires  a  wider  outlook,  loftier  aims 
and  hopes.  The  efforts  demanded  by  nature  have  to 
be  brought  into  harmony  with  those  diviner  aspirations. 
Man  is  bound  to  be  prudent,  brave,  wise  for  eternity. 
He  is  warned  of  his  own  sin  and  urged  to  fly  from  it. 
This  is  the  covenant  with  God  which  is  wrought  into 
the  very  constitution  of  his  moral  being. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  scene  at 
Bochim  and  the  words  which  moved  the  assembly  to 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


tears  had  no  lasting  effect  whatever.  The  history  deals 
with  outstanding  facts  of  the  national  development. 
We  hear  chiefly  of  heroes  and  their  deeds,  but  we  shall 
not  doubt  that  there  were  minds  which  kept  the  glow 
of  truth  and  the  consecration  of  penitential  tears.  The 
best  lives  of  the  people  moved  quietly  on,  apart  from 
the  commotions  and  strifes  of  the  time.  Rarely  are 
the  great  political  names  even  of  a  religious  community 
those  of  holy  and  devout  men,  and,  undoubtedly,  this 
was  true  of  Israel  in  the  time  of  the  judges.  If  we 
were  to  reckon  only  by  those  who  appear  conspicuously 
in  these  pages,  we  should  have  to  wonder  how  the 
spiritual  strain  of  thought  and  feeling  survived.  But 
it  did  survive ;  it  gained  in  clearness  and  force.  There 
were  those  in  every  tribe  who  kept  alive  the  sacred 
traditions  of  Sinai  and  the  desert,  and  Levites  through- 
out the  land  did  much  to  maintain  among  the  people 
the  worship  of  God.  The  great  names  of  Abraham 
and  Moses,  the  story  of  their  faith  and  deeds,  were  the 
text  of  many  an  impressive  lesson.  So  the  light  of 
piety  did  not  go  out ;  Jehovah  was  ever  the  Friend  of 
Israel,  even  in  its  darkest  day,  for  in  the  heart  of  the 
nation  there  never  ceased  to  be  a  faithful  remnant 
maintaining  the  fear  and  obedience  of  the  Holy  Name. 


IV. 

AMONG  THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM, 
Judges  ii.  7-23. 

"  A  ND  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  the 
jl\.  Lord,  died,  being  an  hundred  and  ten  years  old. 
And  they  buried  him  in  the  border  of  his  inheritance  in 
Timnath-heres,  in  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  on  the 
north  of  the  mountain  of  Gaash."  So,  long  after  the  age 
of  Joshua,  the  historian  tells  again  how  Israel  lamented 
its  great  chief,  and  he  seems  to  feel  even  more  than  did 
the  people  of  the  time  the  pathos  and  significance  of 
the  event.  How  much  a  man  of  God  has  been  to  his 
generation  those  rarely  know  who  stand  beside  his 
grave.  Through  faith  in  him  faith  in  the  Eternal  has 
been  sustained,  many  who  have  a  certain  piety  of  their 
own  depending,  more  than  they  have  been  aware,  upon 
their  contact  with  him.  A  glow  went  from  him  which 
insensibly  raised  to  something  like  religious  warmth 
souls  that  apart  from  such  an  influence  would  have 
been  of  the  world  worldly.  Joshua  succeeded  Moses 
as  the  mediator  of  the  covenant.  He  was  the  living 
witness  of  all  that  had  been  done  in  the  Exodus  and 
at  Sinai.  So  long  as  he  continued  with  Israel,  even  in 
the  feebleness  of  old  age,  appearing,  and  no  more,  a 
venerable  figure  in  the  council  of  the  tribes,  there  was 
a  representative  of  Divine  order,  one  who  testified  to 


46  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

the  promises  of  God  and  the  duty  of  His  people.  The 
elders  who  outlived  him  were  not  men  Hke  himself, 
for  they  added  nothing  to  faith ;  yet  they  preserved  the 
idea  at  least  of  the  theocracy,  and  when  they  passed 
away  the  period  of  Israel's  robust  youth  was  at  an  end. 
It  is  this  the  historian  perceives,  and  his  review  of  the 
following  age  in  the  passage  we  are  now  to  consider  is 
darkened  throughout  by  the  cloudy  and  troubled  atmo- 
sphere that  overcame  the  fresh  morning  of  faith. 

We  know  the  great  design  that  should  have  made 
Israel  a  singular  and  triumphant  example  to  the  nations 
of  the  world.  The  body  politic  was  to  have  its  unity 
in  no  elected  government,  in  no  hereditary  ruler,  but 
in  the  law  and  worship  of  its  Divine  King,  sustained  by 
the  ministry  of  priest  and  prophet.  Every  tribe,  every 
family,  every  soul  was  to  be  equally  and  directly 
subject  to  the  Holy  Will  as  expressed  in  the  law  and 
by  the  oracles  of  the  sanctuary.  The  idea  was  that 
order  should  be  maintained  and  the  life  of  the  tribes 
should  go  on  under  the  pressure  of  the  unseen  Hand, 
never  resisted,  never  shaken  off,  and  full  of  bounty 
always  to  a  trustful  and  obedient  people.  There  might 
be  times  when  the  head  men  of  tribes  and  families 
should  have  to  come  together  in  council,  but  it  would  be 
only  to  discover  speedily  and  carry  out  with  one  accord 
the  purpose  of  Jehovah.  Rightly  do  we  regard  this 
as  an  inspired  vision  ;  it  is  at  once  simple  and  majestic. 
When  a  nation  can  so  live  and  order  its  affairs  it  will 
have  solved  the  great  problem  of  ^  .vernment  still 
exercising  every  civilized  community.  The  Hebrews 
never  realized  the  theocracy,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
settlement  in  Canaan  they  came  far  short  of  under- 
standing it.  "  Israel  had  as  yet  scarcely  found  time  to 
imbue  its  spirit   deeply  with  the  great  truths   which 


ii.7-23.]       AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM.  47 

had  been  awakened  into  life  in  it,  and  thus  to  appro- 
priate them  as  an  invaluable  possession  :  the  vital 
principle  of  that  religion  and  nationality  by  which  it 
had  so  wondrously  triumphed  was  still  scarcely  under- 
stood when  it  was  led  into  manifold  severe  trials."^ 
Thus,  while  Hebrew  history  presents  for  the  most  part 
the  aspect  of  an  impetuous  river  broken  and  jarred 
by  rocks  and  boulders,  rarely  settling  into  a  calm 
expanse  of  mirror-like  water,  during  the  period  of  the 
judges  the  stream  is  seen  almost  arrested  in  the  difficult 
country  through  which  it  has  to  force  its  way.  It  is 
divided  by  many  a  crag  and  often  hidden  for  consider- 
able stretches  by  overhanging  cliffs.  It  plunges  in 
cataracts  and  foams  hotly  in  cauldrons  of  hollowed 
rock.  Not  till  Samuel  appears  is  there  anything  like 
success  for  this  nation,  which  is  of  no  account  if  not 
earnestly  religious,  and  never  is  religious  without  a 
stern  and  capable  chief,  at  once  prophet  and  judge, 
a  leader  in  worship  and  a  restorer  of  order  and  unity 
among  the  tribes. 

The  general  survey  or  preface  which  we  have  before 
us  gives  but  one  account  of  the  disasters  that  befell  the 
Hebrew  people — they  ^'  followed  other  gods,  and  pro- 
voked the  Lord  to  anger."  And  the  reason  of  this 
has  to  be  considered.  Taking  a  natural  view  of  the 
circumstances  we  might  pronounce  it  almost  impossible 
for  the  tribes  to  maintain  their  unity  when  they  were 
fighting,  each  in  its  own  district,  against  powerful 
enemies.  It  seems  by  no  means  wonderful  that  nature 
had  its  way,  and  that,  weary  of  war,  the  people  tended 
to  seek  rest  in  friendly  intercourse  and  alliance  with 
their  neighbours.     Were  Judah  and  Simeon  always  to 

1  Ewald. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


fight,  though  their  own  territory  was  secure?  Was 
Ephraim  to  be  the  constant  champion  of  the  weaker 
tribes  and  never  settle  down  to  till  the  land  ?  It  was 
almost  more  than  could  be  expected  of  men  who  had 
the  common  amount  of  selfishness.  Occasionally,  when 
all  were  threatened,  there  was  a  combination  of  the 
scattered  clans,  but  for  the  most  part  each  had  to  fight 
its  own  battle,  and  so  the  unity  of  life  and  faith  was 
broken.  Nor  can  we  marvel  at  the  neglect  of  worship 
and  the  falling  away  from  Jehovah  when  we  find  so 
many  who  have  been  always  surrounded  by  Christian 
influences  drifting  into  a  strange  unconcern  as  to 
religious  obligation  and  privilege.  The  writer  of  the 
Book  of  Judges,  however,  regards  things  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  high  Divine  ideal — the  calling  and  duty  of 
a  God-made  nation.  Men  are  apt  to  frame  excuses 
for  themselves  and  each  other ;  this  historian  makes  no 
excuses.  Where  we  might  speak  compassionately  he 
speaks  in  sternness.  He  is  bound  to  tell  the  story  from 
God's  side,  and  from  God's  side  he  tells  it  with  puritan 
directness.  In  a  sense  it  might  go  sorely  against  the 
grain  to  speak  of  his  ancestors  as  sinning  grievously 
and  meriting  condign  punishment.  But  later  genera- 
tions needed  to  hear  the  truth,  and  he  would  utter  it 
without  evasion.  It  is  surely  Nathan,  or  some  other 
prophet  of  Samuel's  line,  who  lays  bare  with  such 
faithfulness  the  infidelity  of  Israel.  He  is  writing  for 
the  men  of  his  own  time  and  also  for  men  who  are  to 
come ;  he  is  writing  for  us,  and  his  main  theme  is  the 
stern  justice  of  Jehovah's  government.  God  bestows 
privileges  which  men  must  value  and  use,  or  they  shall 
suffer.  When  He  declares  Himself  and  gives  His  law, 
let  the  people  see  to  it ;  let  them  encourage  and  constrain 
each   other   to   obey.      Disobedience  brings   unfailing 


ii.7-23.]       AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM.  49 

penalty.  This  is  the  spirit  of  the  passage  we  are 
considering.  Israel  is  God's  possession,  and  is  bound 
to  be  faithful.  There  is  no  Lord  but  Jehovah,  and 
it  is  unpardonable  for  any  Israelite  to  turn  aside  and 
worship  a  false  God.  The  pressure  of  circumstances, 
often  made  much  of,  is  not  considered  for  a  moment. 
The  weakness  of  human  nature,  the  temptations  to 
which  men  and  women  are  exposed,  are  not  taken 
into  account.  Was  there  little  faith,  little  spirituality  ? 
Every  soul  had  its  own  responsibility  for  the  decay, 
since  to  every  Israelite  Jehovah  had  revealed  His  love 
and  addressed  His  call.  Inexorable  therefore  was 
the  demand  for  obedience.  Religion  is  stern  because 
reasonable,  not  an  impossible  service  as  easy  human 
nature  would  fain  prove  it.  If  men  disbelieve  they 
incur  doom,  and  it  must  fall  upon  them. 

Joshua  and  his  generation  having  been  gathered  unto 
their  fathers,  ^' there  arose  another  generation  which 
knew  not  the  Lord,  nor  yet  the  work  which  He  had 
wrought  for  Israel.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  served 
the  Baalim."  How  common  is  the  fall  traced  in  these 
brief,  stern  words,  the  wasting  of  a  sacred  testimony 
that  seemed  to  be  deeply  graven  upon  the  heart  of  a 
race !  The  fathers  felt  and  knew  ;  the  sons  have  only 
traditional  knowledge  and  it  never  takes  hold  of  them. 
The  Hnk  of  faith  between  one  generation  and  another 
is  not  strongly  forged  ;  the  most  convincing  proofs  of 
God  are  not  recounted.  Here  is  a  man  who  has 
learned  his  own  weakness,  who  has  drained  a  bitter 
^up  of  discipline — how  can  he  better  serve  his  sons 
than  by  telling  them  the  story  of  his  own  mistakes  and 
sins,  his  own  suffering  and  repentance  ?    Here  is  one 

4 


so  THE.  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


who  in  dark  and  trying  times  has  found  solace  and 
strength  and  has  been  lifted  out  of  horror  and  despair 
by  the  merciful  hand  of  God — how  can  he  do  a  father's 
part  without  telling  his  children  of  his  defeats  and 
deliverance,  the  extremity  to  which  he  was  reduced 
and  the  restoring  grace  of  Christ  ?  But  men  hide  their 
weaknesses,  and  are  ashamed  to  confess  that  they  ever 
passed  through  the  Valley  of  Humiliation.  They  leave 
their  ov/n  children  unwarned  to  fall  into  the  sloughs 
in  which  themselves  were  well-nigh  swallowed  up. 
Even  when  they  have  erected  some  Ebenezer,  some 
monument  of  Divine  succour,  they  often  fail  to  bring 
their  children  to  the  spot,  and  speak  to  them  there  with 
fervent  recollection  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord.  Was 
Solomon  when  a  boy  led  by  David  to  the  town  of 
Gath,  and  told  by  him  the  story  of  his  cowardly  fear, 
and  how  he  fled  from  the  face  of  Saul  to  seek  refuge 
among  Philistines  ?  Was  Absalom  in  his  youth  ever 
taken  to  the  plains  of  Bethlehem  and  shown  where  his 
father  fed  the  flocks,  a  poor  shepherd  lad,  when  the 
prophet  sent  for  him  to  be  anointed  the  coming  King 
of  Israel  ?  Had  these  young  princes  learned  in  frank 
conversation  with  their  father  all  he  had  to  tell  of 
temptation  and  transgression,  of  danger  and  redemption, 
perhaps  the  one  would  never  have  gone  astray  in  his 
pride  nor  the  other  died  a  rebel  in  that  wood  of 
Ephraim.  The  Israelitish  fathers  were  like  many 
fathers  still,  they  left  the  minds  of  their  boys  and  girls 
uninstructed  in  life,  uninstructed  in  the  providence  of 
God,  and  this  in  open  neglect  of  the  law  which  marked 
out  their  duty  for  them  with  clear  injunction,  recalling 
the  themes  and  incidents  on  which  they  were  to 
dwell. 

One  passage  in  the  history  of  the  past  must  have 


ii.7-23.]       AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM,  51 

been  vividly  before  the  minds  of  those  who  crossed  the 
Jordan  under  Joshua,  and  should  have  stood  a  protest 
and  warning  against  the  idolatry  into  which  families  so 
easily  lapsed  throughout  the  land.  Over  at  Shittim, 
when  Israel  lay  encamped  on  the  skirts  of  the  mountains 
of  Moab,  a  terrible  sentence  of  Moses  had  fallen  like 
a  thunderbolt.  On  some  high  place  near  the  camp  a 
festival  of  Midianitish  idolatry,  licentious  in  the  ex- 
treme, attracted  great  numbers  of  Hebrews ;  they  went 
astray  after  the  worst  fashion  of  paganism,  and  the 
nation  was  polluted  in  the  idolatrous  orgies.  Then 
Moses  gave  judgment — *'  Take  the  heads  of  the  people 
and  hang  them  up  before  the  Lord,  against  the  sun." 
And  while  that  hideous  row  of  stakes,  each  bearing 
the  transfixed  body  of  a  guilty  chief,  witnessed  in  the 
face  of  the  sun  for  the  Divine  ordinance  of  purity, 
there  fell  a  plague  that  carried  off  twenty-four  thousand 
of  the  transgressors.  Was  that  forgotten  ?  Did  the 
terrible  punishment  of  those  who  sinned  in  the  matter 
of  Baal-peor  not  haunt  the  memories  of  men  when  they 
entered  the  land  of  Baal-worship?  No  :  like  others,  they 
were  able  to  forget.  Human  nature  is  facile,  and  from 
a  great  horror  of  judgment  can  turn  in  quick  recovery 
of  the  usual  ease  and  confidence.  Men  have  been  in 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  where  the  mouth 
of  hell  is ;  they  have  barely  escaped  ;  but  when  they 
return  upon  it  from  another  side  they  do  not  recognize 
the  landmarks  nor  feel  the  need  of  being  on  their  guard. 
They  teach  their  children  many  things,  but  neglect  to 
make  them  aware  of  that  right-seeming  way  the  end 
whereof  are  the  ways  of  death. 

The  worship  of  the  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth  and  the 
place  which  this  came  to  have  in  Hebrew  life  require 


52  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

our  attention  here.  Canaan  had  for  long  been  more 
or  less  subject  to  the  influence  of  Chaldea  and  Egypt, 
and  '^  had  received  the  imprint  of  their  religious  ideas. 
The  fish-god  of  Babylon  reappears  at  Ascalon  in  the 
form  of  Dagon,  the  name  of  the  goddess  Astarte  and 
her  character  seem  to  be  adapted  from  the  Babylonian 
Ishtar.  Perhaps  these  divinities  were  introduced  at  a 
time  when  part  of  the  Canaanite  tribes  lived  on  the 
borders  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  in  daily  contact  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Chaldea."  ^  The  Egyptian  Isis  and 
Osiris,  again,  are  closely  connected  with  the  Tammuz 
and  Astarte  worshipped  in  Phoenicia.  In  a  general 
way  it  may  be  said  that  all  the  races  inhabiting  Syria 
had  the  same  religion,  but  "  each  tribe,  each  people, 
each  town  had  its  Lord,  its  Master,  its  Baal,  designated 
by  a  particular  title  for  distinction  from  the  masters  or 
Baals  of  neighbouring  cities.  The  gods  adored  at  Tyre 
and  Sidon  were  called  Baal-Sur,  the  Master  of  Tyre ; 
Baal-Sidon,  the  Master  of  Sidon.  The  highest  among 
them,  those  that  impersonated  in  its  purity  the  concep- 
tion of  heavenly  fire,  were  called  kings  of  the  gods. 
El  or  Kronos  reigned  at  Byblos ;  Chemosh  among  the 
Moabites ;  Amman  among  the  children  of  Ammon ; 
Soutkhu  among  the  Hittites."  Melcarth,  the  Baal  of 
the  world  of  death,  was  the  Master  of  Tyre.  Each 
Baal  was  associated  with  a  female  divinity,  who  was 
the  mistress  of  the  town,  the  queen  of  the  heavens. 
The  common  name  of  these  goddesses  was  Astarte. 
There  was  an  Ashtoreth  of  Chemosh  among  the 
Moabites.  The  Ashtoreth  of  the  Hittites  was  called 
Tanit.  There  was  an  Ashtoreth  Karnaim  or  Horned, 
so  called   with  reference   to  the  crescent   moon;  and 

*  Maspero. 


ii.7-23.]       AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM.  53 

another  was  Ashtoreth  Naamah,  the  good  Astarte.  In 
short,  a  special  Astarte  could  be  created  by  any  town 
and  named  by  any  fancy,  and  Baals  were  multiplied  in 
the  same  way.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  assign 
any  distinct  character  to  these  inventions.  The  Baalim 
mostly  represented  forces  of  nature — the  sun,  the  stars. 
The  Astartes  presided  over  love,  birth,  the  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  and — war.  "  The  multitude  of 
secondary  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth  tended  to  resolve 
themselves  into  a  single  supreme  pair,  in  comparison 
with  whom  the  others  had  little  more  than  a  shadowy 
existence."  As  the  sun  and  moon  outshine  all  the 
other  heavenly  bodies,  so  two  principal  deities  repre- 
senting them  were  supreme. 

The  worship  connected  with  this  horde  of  fanciful 
beings  is  well  known  to  have  merited  the  strongest 
language  of  detestation  applied  to  it  by  the  Hebrew 
prophets.  The  ceremonies  were  a  strange  and  degrad- 
ing blend  of  the  licentious  and  the  cruel,  notorious  even 
in  a  time  of  gross  and  hideous  rites.  The  Baalim  were 
supposed  to  have  a  fierce  and  envious  disposition, 
imperiously  demanding  the  torture  and  death  not  only 
of  animals  but  of  men.  The  horrible  notion  had  taken 
root  that  in  times  of  public  danger  king  and  nobles 
must  sacrifice  their  children  in  fire  for  the  pleasure 
of  the  god.  And  while  nothing  of  this  sort  was  done 
for  the  Ashtaroth  their  demands  were  in  one  aspect 
even  more  vile.  Self-mutilation,  self-defilement  were 
acts  of  worship,  and  in  the  great  festivals  men  and 
women  gave  themselves  up  to  debauchery  which  cannot 
be  described.  No  doubt  some  of  the  observances  of 
this  paganism  were  mild  and  simple.  Feasts  there 
were  at  the  seasons  of  reaping  and  vintage  which  were 
of  a  bright  and  comparatively  harmless  character  ;  and 


54  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

it  was  by  taking  part  in  these  that  Hebrew  families 
began  their  acquaintance  with  the  heathenism  of  the 
country.  But  the  tendency  of  polytheism  is  ever 
downward.  It  springs  from  a  curious  and  ignorant 
dwelling  on  the  mysterious  processes  of  nature,  untamed 
fancy  personifying  the  causes  of  all  that  is  strange 
and  horrible,  constantly  wandering  therefore  into  more 
grotesque  and  lawless  dreams  of  unseen  powers  and 
their  claims  on  man.  The  imagination  of  the  worshipper, 
which  passes  beyond  his  power  of  action,  attributes  to 
the  gods  energy  more  vehement,  desires  more  sweeping, 
anger  more  dreadful  than  he  finds  in  himself.  He 
thinks  of  beings  who  are  strong  in  appetite  and  will 
and  yet  under  no  restraint  or  responsibility.  In  the 
beginning  polytheism  is  not  necessarily  vile  and  cruel ; 
but  it  must  become  so  as  it  develops.  The  minds  by 
whose  fancies  the  gods  are  created  and  furnished  with 
adventures  are  able  to  conceive  characters  vehemently 
cruel,  wildly  capricious  and  impure.  But  how  can  they 
imagine  a  character  great  in  wisdom,  holiness  and 
justice  ?  The  additions  of  fable  and  belief  made  from 
age  to  age  may  hold  in  solution  some  elements  that  are 
good,  some  of  man's  yearning  for  the  noble  and  true 
beyond  him.  The  better  strain,  however,  is  overborne 
in  popular  talk  and  custom  by  the  tendency  to  fear 
rather  than  to  hope  in  presence  of  unknown  powers, 
the  necessity  which  is  felt  to  avert  possible  anger  of 
the  gods  or  make  sure  of  their  patronage.  Sacrifices 
are  multiplied,  the  offerer  exerting  himself  more  and 
more  to  gain  his  main  point  at  whatever  expense ;  while 
he  thinks  of  the  world  of  gods  as  a  region  in  which 
there  is  jealousy  of  man's  respect  and  a  multitude  of 
rival  claims  all  of  which  must  be  met.  Thus  the  whole 
moral  atmosphere  is  thrown  into  confusion. 


ii.7-23.]      AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM.  55 


Into  a  polytheism  of  this  kind  came  Israel,  to  whom 
had  been  committed  a  revelation  of  the  one  true  God, 
and  in  the  first  moment  of  homage  at  heathen  altars 
the  people  lost  the  secret  of  its  strength.  Certainly 
Jehovah  was  not  abandoned  ;  He  was  thought  of  still 
as  the  Lord  of  Israel.  But  He  was  now  one  among 
many  who  had  their  rights  and  could  repay  the  fervent 
worshipj;er.  At  one  high-place  it  was  Jehovah  men 
sought,  at  another  the  Baal  of  the  hill  and  his  Ashtoreth. 
Yet  Jehovah  was  still  the  special  patron  of  the  Hebrew 
tribes  and  of  no  others,  and  in  trouble  they  turned  to 
Him  for  relief.  So  in  the  midst  of  mythology  Divine 
faith  had  to  struggle  for  existence.  The  stone  pillars 
which  the  Israelites  erected  were  mostly  to  the  name 
of  God,  but  Hebrews  danced  with  Hittite  and  Jebusite 
around  the  poles  of  Astarte,  and  in  revels  of  nature- 
worship  they  forgot  their  holy  traditions,  lost  their 
vigour  of  body  and  soul.  The  doom  of  apostasy  ful- 
filled itself.  They  were  unable  to  stand  before  their 
enemies.  *^  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  against  them 
for  evil,  and  they  were  greatly  distressed." 

And  why  could  not  Israel  rest  in  the  debasement  of 
idolatry?  Why  did  not  the  Hebrews  abandon  their 
distinct  mission  as  a  nation  and  mingle  with  the  races 
they  came  to  convert  or  drive  away  ?  They  could  not 
rest  ;  they  could  not  mingle  and  forget.  Is  there  ever 
peace  in  the  soul  of  a  man  who  falls  from  early  impres- 
sions of  good  to  join  the  licentious  and  the  profane  ? 
He  has  still  his  own  personality,  shot  through  with 
recollections  of  youth  and  traits  inherited  from  godly 
ancestors.  It  is  impossible  for  him  to  be  at  one  with 
his  new  companions  in  their  revelry  and  vice.  He 
finds  that  from  which  his  souls  revolts,  he  feels  disgust 


56  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

which  he  has  to  overcome  by  a  strong  effort  of  perverted 
v^ill.  He  despises  his  associates  and  knows  in  his 
inmost  heart  that  he  is  of  a  different  race.  Worse  he 
may  become  than  they,  but  he  is  never  the  same.  So 
was  it  in  the  degradation  of  the  IsraeHtes,  both  indi- 
vidually and  as  a  nation.  From  complete  absorption 
among  the  peoples  of  Canaan  they  were  preserved  by 
hereditary  influences  which  were  part  of  their  very 
life,  by  holy  thoughts  and  hopes  embodied  in  their 
national  history,  by  the  rags  of  that  conscience  which 
remained  from  the  law-giving  of  Moses  and  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  wilderness.  Moreover,  akin  as  they  were 
to  the  idolatrous  races,  they  had  a  feeling  of  closer 
kinship  with  each  other,  tribe  with  tribe,  family  with 
family ;  and  the  worship  of  God  at  the  little-frequented 
shrine  still  maintained  the  shadow  at  least  of  the 
national  consecration.  They  were  a  people  apart,  these 
Beni-Israel,  a  people  of  higher  rank  than  Amorites  or 
Perizzites,  Hittites  or  Phoenicians.  Even  when  least 
alive  to  their  destiny  they  were  still  held  by  it,  led 
on  secretly  by  that  heavenly  hand  which  never  let  them 
go.  From  time  to  time  souls  were  born  among  them 
aglow  with  devout  eagerness,  confident  in  the  faith  of 
God.  The  tribes  were  roused  out  of  lethargy  by  voices 
that  woke  many  recollections  of  half-forgotten  purpose 
and  hope.  Now  from  Judah  in  the  south,  now 
from  Ephraim  in  the  centre,  now  from  Dan  or  Gilead 
a  cry  was  raised.  For  a  time  at  least  manhood  was 
quickened,  national  feeling  became  keen,  the  old  faith 
was  partly  revived,  and  God  had  again  a  witness  in 
His  people. 

We  have  found  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Judges 
consistent  and  unfaltering  in  his  condemnation  of  Israel ; 
he  is  queally  consistent  and  eager  in  his  vindication  of 


ii.  7-23.]      AMONG   THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM,  57 

God.  It  is  to  him  no  doubtful  thing,  but  an  assured 
fact,  that  the  Holy  One  came  with  Israel  from  Paran 
and  marched  with  the  people  from  Seir.  He  has  no 
hesitation  in  ascribing  to  Divine  providence  and  grace 
the  deeds  of  those  men  who  go  by  the  name  of  judges. 
It  startles  and  even  confounds  some  to  note  the  plain 
direct  terms  in  which  God  is  made,  so  to  speak,  re- 
sponsible for  those  rude  warriors  whose  exploits  we 
are  to  review, — for  Ehud,  for  Jephthah,  for  Samson. 
The  men  are  children  of  their  age,  vehement,  ofteri 
reckless,  not  answering  to  the  Christian  ideal  of  heroism. 
They  do  rough  work  in  a  rough  way.  If  we  found 
their  history  elsewhere  than  in  the  Bible  we  should  be 
disposed  to  class  them  with  the  Roman  Horatius,  the 
Saxon  Hereward,  the  Jutes  Hengest  and  Horsa  and 
hardly  dare  to  call  them  men  of  God's  hand.  But  here 
they  are  presented  bearing  the  stamp  of  a  Divine 
vocation ;  and  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  emphatically 
reaffirmed.  "  What  shall  I  more  say  ?  for  the  time  will 
fail  me  if  I  tell  of  Gideon,  Barak,  Samson,  Jephthah ; 
....  who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought 
righteousness,  obtained  promises,  ....  waxed  mighty 
in  war,  turned  to  flight  armies  of  aliens." 

There  is  a  crude  religious  sentimentalism  to  which 
the  Bible  gives  no  countenance.  Where  we,  mistaking 
the  meaning  of  providence  because  we  do  not  rightly 
believe  in  immortality,  are  apt  to  think  with  horror  of 
the  miseries  of  men,  the  vigorous  veracity  of  sacred 
writers  directs  our  thought  to  the  moral  issues  of  life 
and  the  vast  movements  of  God's  purifying  design. 
Where  we,  ignorant  of  much  that  goes  to  the  making 
of  a  world,  lament  the  seeming  confusion  and  the 
errors,  the  Bible  seer  discerns  that  the  cup  of  red  wine 
poured  out  is  in  the  hand  of  Almighty  Justice   and 


58  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Wisdom.  It  is  of  a  piece  with  the  superficial  feeling 
of  modern  society  to  doubt  whether  God  could  have 
any  share  in  the  deeds  of  Jephthah  and  the  career  ot 
Samson,  whether  these  could  have  any  place  in  the 
Divine  order.  Look  at  Christ  and  His  infinite  com- 
passion, it  is  said;  read  that  God  is  love,  and  then 
reconcile  if  you  can  this  view  of  His  character  with 
the  idea  which  makes  Barak  and  Gideon  His  ministers. 
Out  of  all  such  perplexities  there  is  a  straight  way. 
You  make  light  of  moral  evil  and  individual  responsi- 
bility when  you  say  that  this  war  or  that  pestilence 
has  no  Divine  mission.  You  deny  eternal  righteous- 
ness when  you  question  whether  a  man,  vindicating  it 
in  the  time-sphere,  can  have  a  Divine  vocation.  The 
man  is  but  a  human  instrument.  True.  He  is  not 
perfect,  he  is  not  even  spiritual.  True.  Yet  if  there 
is  in  him  a  gleam  of  right  and  earnest  purpose,  if  he 
stands  above  his  time  in  virtue  of  an  inward  light  which 
shows  him  but  a  single  truth,  and  in  the  spirit  of  that 
strikes  his  blow — is  it  to  be  denied  that  within  his 
Hmits  he  is  a  weapon  of  the  holiest  Providence,  a 
helper  of  eternal  grace  ? 

The  storm,  the  pestilence  have  a  providential  errand. 
They  urge  men  to  prudence  and  effort;  they  prevent 
communities  from  settling  on  their  lees.  But  the  here 
has  a  higher  range  of  usefulness.  It  is  not  mere 
prudence  he  represents,  but  the  passion  for  justice. 
For  right  against  might,  for  liberty  against  oppression 
he  contends,  and  in  striking  his  blow  he  compels  his 
generation  to  take  into  account  morality  and  the  will 
of  God.  He  may  not  see  far,  but  at  least  he  stirs 
inquiry  as  to  the  right  way,  and  though  thousands  die 
in  ^-he  conflict  he  awakens  there  is  a  real  gain  which 
the  coming  age  inherits.     Such  a  one,  however  faulty 


ii.7-23.]      AMONG  THE  ROCKS  OF  PAGANISM.  59 

however,  as  we  may  say,  earthly,  is  yet  far  above  mere 
earthly  levels.  His  moral  concepts  may  be  poor  and 
low  compared  with  ours ;  but  the  heat  that  moves  him 
is  not  of  sense,  not  of  clay.  Obstructed  it  is  by  the 
ignorance  and  sin  of  our  human  estate,  nevertheless  it 
is  a  supernatural  power,  and  so  far  as  it  works  in 
any  degree  for  righteousness,  freedom,  the  reaHzation 
of  God,  the  man  is  a  hero  of  faith. 

We  do  not  affirm  here  that  God  approves  or  inspires 
all  that  is  done  by  the  leaders  of  a  suffering  people  in 
the  way  of  vindicating  what  they  deem  their  rights. 
Moreover,  there  are  claims  and  rights  so-called  for 
which  it  is  impious  to  shed  a  drop  of  blood.  But  if  the 
state  of  humanity  is  such  that  the  Son  of  God  must 
die  for  it,  is  there  any  room  to  wonder  that  men  have 
to  die  for  it  ?  Given  a  cause  like  that  of  Israel,  a  need 
of  the  whole  world  which  Israel  only  could  meet,  and 
the  men  who  unselfishly,  at  the  risk  of  death,  did  their 
part  in  the  front  of  the  struggle  which  that  cause  and 
that  need  demanded,  though  they  slew  their  thousands, 
were  not  men  of  whom  the  Christian  teacher  needs  be 
afraid  to  speak.  And  there  have  been  many  such  in 
all  nations,  for  the  principle  by  which  we  judge  is  of 
the  broadest  application, — men  who  have  led  the  forlorn 
hopes  of  nations,  driven  back  the  march  of  tyrants, 
given  law  and  order  to  an  unsettled  land. 

Judge  after  judge  was  "raised  up" — the  word  is 
true — and  rallied  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  while  each 
lived  there  were  renewed  energy  and  prosperity.  But 
the  moral  revival  was  never  in  the  deeps  of  life  and  no 
deHverance  was  permanent.  It  is  only  a  faithful  nation 
that  can  use  freedom.  Neither  trouble  nor  release  from 
trouble  will  certainly  make  either  a  man  or  a  people 
steadily  true  to  the  best.     Unless  there  is  along  with 


6o  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

trouble  a  conviction  of  spiritual  need  and  failure,  men 
will  forget  the  prayers  and  vows  they  made  in  their 
extremity.  Thus  in  the  history  of  Israel,  as  in  the 
history  of  many  a  soul,  periods  of  suffering  and  of 
prosperity  succeed  each  other  and  there  is  no  distinct 
growth  of  the  religious  life.  All  these  experiences  are 
meant  to  throw  men  back  upon  the  seriousness  of  duty, 
and  the  great  purpose  God  has  in  their  existence.  We 
must  repent  not  because  we  are  in  pain  or  grief,  but 
because  we  are  estranged  from  the  Holy  One  and  have 
denied  the  God  of  Salvation.  Until  the  soul  comes  to 
this  it  only  struggles  out  of  one  pit  to  fall  into  another. 


THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND  OF  OTHNIEL, 
Judges  iii.  i-il. 

WE  come  now  to  a  statement  of  no  small  impor- 
tance, which  may  be  the  cause  of  some  per- 
plexity. It  is  emphatically  affirmed  that  God  fulfilled 
His  design  for  Israel  by  leaving  around  it  in  Canaan 
a  circle  of  vigorous  tribes  very  unlike  each  other,  but 
alike  in  this,  that  each  presented  to  the  Hebrews  a 
civilisation  from  which  something  might  be  learned  but 
much  had  to  be  dreaded,  a  seductive  form  of  paganism 
which  ought  to  have  been  entirely  resisted,  an  aggres- 
sive energy  fitted  to  rouse  their  national  feeling.  We 
learn  that  Israel  was  led  along  a  course  of  development 
resembling  that  by  which  other  nations  have  advanced 
to  unity  and  strength.  As  the  Divine  plan  is  unfolded, 
it  is  seen  that  not  by  undivided  possession  of  the 
Promised  Land,  not  by  swift  and  fierce  clearing  away 
of  opponents,  was  Israel  to  reach  its  glory  and  become 
Jehovah's  witness,  but  in  the  way  of  patient  fidehty 
amidst  temptations,  by  long  struggle  and  arduous  dis- 
cipline. And  why  should  this  cause  perplexity?  If 
moral  education  did  not  move  on  the  same  line  for  all 
peoples  in  every  age,  then  indeed  mankind  would  be 
put  to  intellectual  confusion.  There  was  never  any 
other  way  for  Israel  than  for  the  rest  of  the  world. 


62  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

"  These  are  the  nations  which  the  Lord  left  to  prove 
Israel  by  them,  to  know  whether  they  would  hearken 
unto  the  commandments  of  the  Lord."  The  first-named 
are  the  PhiHstines,  whose  settlements  on  the  coast- 
plain  toward  Egypt  were  growing  in  power.  They 
were  a  maritime  race,  apparently  much  like  the  Danish 
invaders  of  Saxon  England,  sea-rovers  or  pirates,  ready 
for  any  fray  that  promised  spoil.  In  the  great  coalition 
of  peoples  that  fell  on  Egypt  during  the  reign  of 
Ramses  III.,  about  the  year  1260  B.C.,  Philistines 
were  conspicuous,  and  after  the  crushing  defeat  of  the 
expedition  they  appear  in  larger  numbers  on  the  coast  of 
Canaan.  Their  cities  were  military  republics  skilfully 
organized,  each  with  a  seven  or  war-chief,  the  chiefs 
of  the  hundred  cities  forming  a  council  of  federation. 
Their  origin  is  not  known ;  but  we  may  suppose  them 
to  have  been  a  branch  of  the  Amorite  family,  who  after 
a  time  of  adventure  were  returning  to  their  early  haunts. 
It  may  be  reckoned  certain  that  in  wealth  and  civiliza- 
tion they  presented  a  marked  contrast  to  the  Israelites, 
and  their  equipments  of  all  kinds  gave  them  great 
advantage  in  the  arts  of  war  and  peace.  Even  in  the 
period  of  the  Judges  there  were  imposing  temples  in  the 
Philistine  cities  and  the  worship  must  have  been  care- 
fully ordered.  How  they  compared  with  the  Hebrews 
in  domestic  life  we  have  no  means  of  judging,  but  there 
was  certainly  some  barrier  of  race,  language,  or  custom 
between  the  peoples  which  made  intermarriage  very 
rare.  We  can  suppose  that  they  looked  upon  the 
Hebrews  from  their  higher  worldly  level  as  rude  and 
slavish.  Military  adventurers  not  unwiUing  to  sell 
their  services  for  gold  would  be  apt  to  despise  a  race 
half-nomad,  half-rural.  It  was  in  war,  not  in  peace, 
that  Philistine  and   Hebrew  met,   contempt  on  either 


iii.  i-ii.]  THE  ARM   OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.         63 

side  gradually  changing  into  keenest  hatred  as  century 
after  century  the  issue  of  battle  was  tried  with  varying 
success.  And  it  must  be  said  that  it  was  well  for  the 
tribes  of  Jehovah  rather  to  be  in  occasional  subjection 
to  the  Philistines,  and  so  learn  to  dread  them,  than 
to  mix  freely  with  those  by  whom  the  great  ideas  of 
Hebrew  life  were  despised. 

On  the  northward  sea-board  a  quite  different  race, 
the  Zidonians,  or  Phoenicians,  were  in  one  sense  better 
neighbours  to  the  Israelites,  in  another  sense  no  better 
friends.  While  the  Philistines  were  haughty,  aristo- 
cratic, military,  the  Phoenicians  were  the  great  bour- 
geoisie of  the  period,  clever,  enterprising,  eminently 
successful  in  trade.  Like  the  other  Canaanites  and  the 
ancestors  of  the  Jews,  they  were  probably  immigrants 
from  the  lower  Euphrates  valley ;  unHke  the  others,  they 
brought  with  them  habits  of  commerce  and  skill  in 
manufacture,  for  which  they  became  famous  along 
the  Mediterranean  shores  and  beyond  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules.  Between  Philistine  and  Phoenician  the 
Hebrew  was  mercifully  protected  from  the  absorbing 
interests  of  commercial  life  and  the  disgrace  of 
prosperous  piracy.  The  conscious  superiority  of  the 
coast  peoples  in  wealth  and  influence  and  the  material 
elements  of  civilisation  was  itself  a  guard  to  the  Jews, 
who  had  their  own  sense  of  dignity,  their  own  claim  to 
assert.  The  configuration  of  the  country  helped  the 
separateness  of  Israel,  especially  so  far  as  Phoenicia  was 
concerned,  which  lay  mainly  beyond  the  rampart  of 
Lebanon  and  the  gorge  of  the  Litany ;  while  with  the 
fortress  of  Tyre  on  the  hither  side  of  the  natural 
frontier  there  appears  to  have  been  for  a  long  time  no 
intercourse,  probably  on  account  of  its  peculiar  position. 
But    the   spirit  of   Phoenicia   was   the   great    barrier. 


THE  BOOK  OF  fUDGES. 


Along  the  crowded  wharves  of  Tyre  and  Zidon,  in  ware- 
houses and  markets,  factories  and  workshops,  a  hun- 
dred industries  were  in  full  play,  and  in  their  luxurious 
dwellings  the  busy  prosperous  traders,  with  their  silk- 
clad  wives,  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  the  age.  From  all 
this  the  Hebrew,  rough  and  unkempt,  felt  himself  shut 
out,  perhaps  with  a  touch  of  regret,  perhaps  with  scorn 
equal  to  that  on  the  other  side.  He  had  to  live  his  life 
apart  from  that  busy  race,  apart  from  its  vivacity 
and  enterprise,  apart  from  its  lubricity  and  worldliness. 
The  contempt  of  the  world  is  ill  to  bear,  and  the  Jew 
no  doubt  found  it  so.  But  it  was  good  for  him.  The 
tribes  had  time  to  consolidate,  the  religion  of  Jehovah 
became  established  before  Phoenicia  thought  it  worth 
while  to  court  her  neighbour.  Early  indeed  the  idolatry 
of  the  one  people  infected  the  other  and  there  were  the 
beginnings  of  trade,  yet  on  the  whole  for  many  centuries 
they  kept  apart.  Not  till  a  king  throned  in  Jerusalem 
could  enter  into  alliance  with  a  king  of  Tyre,  crown 
with  crown,  did  there  come  to  be  that  intimacy  which 
had  so  much  risk  for  the  Hebrew.  The  humbleness 
and  poverty  of  Israel  during  the  early  centuries  of  its 
history  in  Canaan  was  a  providential  safeguard.  God 
would  not  lose  His  people,  nor  suffer  it  to  forget  its 
mission. 

Among  the  inland  races  with  whom  the  Israelites  are 
said  to  have  dwelt,  the  Amorites,  though  mentioned 
along  with  Perizzites  and  Hivites,  had  very  distinct 
characteristics.  They  were  a  mountain  people  like  the 
Scottish  Highlanders,  even  in  physiognomy  much 
resembling  them,  a  tall,  white-skinned,  blue-eyed  race. 
Warhke  we  know  they  were,  and  the  Egyptian  repre- 
sentation of  the  siege  of  Dapur  by  Ramses  II.  shows 
what  is  supposed  to  be  the  standard  of  the  Amorites 


iii.i-ii.]    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.        65 

on  the  highest  tcwer,  a  shield  pierced  by  three  arrows 
surmounted  by  another  arrow  fastened  across  the  top 
of  the  staff.  On  the  east  of  Jordan  they  were  defeated 
by  the  Israehtes  and  their  land  between  Arnon  and 
Jabbok  was  allotted  to  Reuben  and  Gad.  In  the  west 
they  seem  to  have  held  their  ground  in  isolated  for- 
tresses or  small  clans,  so  energetic  and  troublesome 
that  it  is  specially  noted  in  Samuel's  time  that  a  great 
defeat  of  the  Philistines  brought  peace  between  Israel 
and  the  Amorites.  A  significant  reference  in  the 
description  of  Ahab's  idolatry — "  he  did  very  abomin- 
ably in  following  idols  according  to  all  things  as  did 
the  Amorites  " — shows  the  religion  of  these  people  to 
have  been  Baal-worship  of  the  grossest  kind ;  and 
we  may  well  suppose  that  by  intermixture  with  them 
especially  the  faith  of  Israel  was  debased.  Even  now, 
it  may  be  said,  the  Amorite  is  still  in  the  land ;  a  blue- 
eyed,  fair-complexioned  type  survives,  representing  that 
ancient  stock. 

Passing  some  tribes  whose  names  imply  rather 
geographical  than  ethnical  distinctions,  we  come  to  the 
Hittites,  the  powerful  people  of  whom  in  recent  years 
we  have  learned  something.  At  one  time  these  Hittites 
were  practically  masters  of  the  wide  region  from 
Ephesus  in  the  west  of  Asia  Minor  to  Carchemish  on  the 
Euphrates,  and  from  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea  to  the 
south  of  Palestine.  They  appear  to  us  in  the  archives 
of  Thebes  and  the  poem  of  the  Laureate,  Pentaur,  as 
the  great  adversaries  of  Egypt  in  the  days  of  Ramses  I. 
and  his  successors ;  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  re- 
cords is  of  the  battle  fought  about  1383  b.c.  at  Kadesh 
on  the  Orontes,  between  the  immense  armies  of  the 
two  nations,  the  Egyptians  being  led  by  Ramses  II. 
Amazing  feats  were  attributed  to  Ramses,  but  he  was 

5 


66  THE  BOOK  OF  /UDGES. 

compelled  to  treat  on  equal  terms  with  the  "great 
king  of  Kheta/'  and  the  war  was  followed  by  a 
marriage  between  the  Pharaoh  and  the  daughter  of  the 
Hittite  prince.  Syria  too  was  given  up  to  the  latter  as 
his  legitimate  possession.  The  treaty  of  peace  drawn 
up  on  the  occasion,  in  the  name  of  the  chief  gods  of 
Egypt  and  of  the  Hittites,  included  a  compact  of  offen- 
sive and  defensive  alliance  and  careful  provisions  for 
extradition  of  fugitives  and  criminals.  Throughout  it 
there  is  evident  a  great  dependence  upon  the  company 
of  gods  of  either  land,  who  are  largely  invoked  to  punish 
those  who  break  and  reward  those  who  keep  its  terms. 
"He  who  shall  observe  these  commandments  which 
the  silver  tablet  contains,  whether  he  be  of  the  people 
of  Kheta  or  of  the  people  of  Egypt,  because  he  has  not 
neglected  them,  the  company  of  the  gods  of  the  land 
of  Kheta  and  the  company  of  the  gods  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  shall  secure  his  reward  and  preserve  life  for  him 
and  his  servants."^  From  this  time  the  Amorites  of 
southern  Palestine  and  the  minor  Canaanite  peoples 
submitted  to  the  Hittite  dominion,  and  it  was  while  this 
subjection  lasted  that  the  Israelites  under  Joshua 
appeared  on  the  scene.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  tremendous  conflict  with  Egypt  had  exhausted  the 
population  of  Canaan  and  wasted  the  country,  and 
so  prepared  the  way  for  the  success  of  Israel.  The 
Hittites  indeed  were  strong  enough  had  they  seen  fit 
to  oppose  with  great  armies  the  new  comers  into  Syria. 
But  the  centre  of  their  power  lay  far  to  the  north, 
perhaps  in  Cappadocia ;  and  on  the  frontier  towards 
Nineveh  they  were  engaged  with  more  formidable 
opponents.     We  may  also  surmise    that  the  Hittites, 

>  "The  Hittites,"  by  A.  H.  Sayce,  LL.D.,  p.  36. 


iii.  i-ii.J    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.        67 

whose  alliance  with  Egypt  was  by  Joshua's  time  some- 
what decayed,  would  look  upon  the  Hebrews,  to  begin 
with,  as  fugitives  from  the  misrule  of  the  Pharaoh 
who  might  be  counted  upon  to  take  arms  against  their 
former  oppressors.  This  would  account,  in  part  at 
least,  for  the  indifference  with  which  the  Israelite 
settlement  in  Canaan  was  regarded;  it  explains  why 
no  vigorous  attempt  was  made  to  drive  back  the  tribes. 

For  the  characteristics  of  the  Hittites,  whose  appear- 
ance and  dress  constantly  suggest  a  Mongolian  origin, 
we  can  now  consult  their  monuments.  A  vigorous 
people  they  must  have  been,  capable  of  government,  of 
extensive  organization,  concerned  to  perfect  their  arts 
as  well  as  to  increase  their  power.  Original  contri- 
butors to  civilization  they  probably  were  not,  but  they 
had  skill  to  use  what  they  found  and  spread  it  widely. 
Their  worship  of  Sutekh  or  Soutkhu,  and  especially  of 
Astarte  under  the  name  of  Ma,  who  reappears  in  the 
Great  Diana  of  Ephesus,  must  have  been  very  elaborate. 
A  single  Cappadocian  city  is  reported  to  have  had  at 
one  time  six  thousand  armed  priestesses  and  eunuchs 
of  that  goddess.  In  Palestine  there  were  not  many 
of  this  distinct  and  energetic  people  when  the  Hebrews 
crossed  the  Jordan.  A  settlement  seems  to  have 
remained  about  Hebron,  but  the  armies  had  with- 
drawn ;  Kadesh  on  the  Orontes  was  the  nearest  garrison. 
One  peculiar  institution  of  Hittite  religion  was  the 
holy  city,  which  afforded  sanctuary  to  fugitives  ;  and  it 
is  notable  that  some  of  these  cities  in  Canaan,  such  as 
Kadesh-Naphtali  and  Hebron,  are  found  among  the 
Hebrew  cities  of  refuge. 

It  was  as  a  people  at  once  enticed  and  threatened, 
invited  to  peace  and  constantly  provoked  to  war,  that 
Israel  settled  in  the  circle  of  Syrian  nations.    After  the 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

first  conflicts,  ending  in  the  defeat  of  Adoni-bezek  and 
the  capture  of  Hebron  and  Kiriath-sepher,  the  Hebrews 
had  an  acknowledged  place,  partly  won  by  their  prowess, 
partly  by  the  terror  of  Jehovah  which  accompanied 
their  arms.  To  PhiHstines,  Phoenicians  and  Hittites, 
as  we  have  seen,  their  coming  mattered  little,  and  the 
other  races  had  to  make  the  best  of  affairs,  sometimes 
able  to  hold  their  ground,  sometimes  forced  to  give 
way.  The  Hebrew  tribes,  for  their  part,  were,  on  the 
whole,  too  ready  to  live  at  peace  and  to  yield  not  a 
little  for  the  sake  of  peace.  Intermarriages  made  their 
position  safer,  and  they  intermarried  with  Amorites, 
Hivites,  Perizzites.  Interchange  of  goods  was  profit- 
able, and  they  engaged  in  barter.  The  observance  of 
frontiers  and  covenants  helped  to  make  things  smooth, 
and  they  agreed  on  boundary  lines  of  territory  and 
terms  of  fraternal  intercourse.  The  acknowledgment 
of  their  neighbours'  religion  was  the  next  thing,  and 
from  that  they  did  not  shrink.  The  new  neighbours 
were  practically  superior  to  themselves  in  many  ways, 
well-informed  as  to  the  soil,  the  climate,  the  methods 
of  tillage  necessary  in  the  land,  well  able  to  teach  use- 
ful arts  and  simple  manufactures.  Little  by  little  the 
debasing  notions  and  bad  customs  that  infest  pagan 
society  entered  Hebrew  homes.  Comfort  and  prosper- 
ity came ;  but  comfort  was  dearly  bought  with  loss 
of  pureness,  and  prosperity  with  loss  of  faith.  The 
watchwords  of  unity  were  forgotten  by  many.  But 
for  the  sore  oppressions  of  which  the  Mesopotamian 
was  the  first  the  tribes  would  have  gradually  lost  all 
coherence  and  vigour  and  become  like  those  poor 
tatters  of  races  that  dragged  out  an  inglorious  existence 
between  Jordan  and  the  Mediterranean  plain. 

Yet  it  is  with  nations  as  with  men ;  those  that  have 


iii.  i-ii.]    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.        69 

a  reason  of  existence  and  the  desire  to  realize  it,  even  at 
intervals,  may  fall  away  into  pitiful  languor  if  corrupted 
by  prosperity,  but  when  the  need  comes  their  spirit 
will  be  renewed.  While  Hivites,  Perizzites  and  even 
Amorites  had  practically  nothing  to  live  for,  but  only 
cared  to  live,  the  Hebrews  felt  oppression  and  restraint 
in  thrir  inmost  marrow.  What  the  faithful  servants 
of  God  among  them  urged  in  vain  the  iron  heel  of 
Cushan-rishathaim   made   them    remember  and  realize 

that  they  had  a  God  from  Whom  they  were  basely 
departing,  a  birthright  they  were  selling  for  pottage. 
In  Doubting  Castle,  under  the  chains  of  Despair,  they 
bethought  them  of  the  Almighty  and  His  ancient  pro- 
mises, they  cried  unto  the  Lord.  And  it  was  not  the 
cry  of  an  afflicted  church  ;  Israel  was  far  from  deserv- 
ing that  name.  Rather  was  it  the  cry  of  a  prodigal 
people  scarcely  daring  to  hope  that  the  Father  would 
forgive  and  save. 

Nothing  yet  found  in  the  records  of  Babylon  or 
Assyria  throws  any  hght  on  the  invasion  of  Cushan- 
rishathaim,  whose  name,  which  seems  to  mean  Cushan 
of  the  Two  Evil  Deeds,  may  be  taken  to  represent  his 
character  as  the  Hebrews  viewed  it.  He  was  a  king 
one  of  whose  predecessors  a  few  centuries  before  had 
given  a  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  third  Amenophis 
of  Egypt,  and  with  her  the  Aramaean  religion  to  the 
Nile  valley.  At  that  time  Mesopotamia,  or  Aram- 
Naharaim,  was  one  of  the  greatest  monarchies  of  western 
Asia.  Stretching  along  the  Euphrates  from  the  Khabour 
river  towards  Carchemish  and  away  to  the  highlands 
of  Armenia,  it  embraced  the  district  in  which  Terah 
and  Abram  first  settled  when  the  family  migrated 
from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  In  the  days  of  the  judges 
of  Israel,  however,  the  glory  of  Aram  had  faded.     The 


70  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Assyrians  threatened  its  eastern  frontier,  and  about 
1325  B.C.,  the  date  at  which  we  have  now  arrived,  they 
laid  waste  the  valley  of  the  Khabour.  We  can  suppose 
that  the  pressure  of  this  rising  empire  was  one  cause 
of  the  expedition  of  Cushan  towards  the  western  sea. 

It  remains  a  question,  however,  why  the  Mesopota- 
mian  king  should  have  been  allowed  to  traverse  the 
land  of  the  Hittites,  either  by  way  of  Damascus  or  the 
desert  route  that  led  past  Tadmor,  in  order  to  fall  on 
the  Israelites ;  and  there  is  this  other  question,  What 
led  him  to  think  of  attacking  Israel  especially  among 
the  dwellers  in  Canaan  ?  In  pursuing  these  inquiries 
we  have  at  least  presumption  to  guide  us.  Carchemish 
on  the  Euphrates  was  a  great  Hittite  fortress  command- 
ing the  fords  of  that  deep  and  treacherous  river.  Not 
far  from  it,  within  the  Mesopotamian  country,  was 
Pethor,  which  was  at  once  a  Hittite  and  an  Aramaean 
town — Pethor  the  city  of  Balaam  with  whom  the 
Hebrews  had  had  to  reckon  shortly  before  they  entered 
Canaan.  Now  Cushan-rishathaim,  reigning  in  this 
region,  occupied  the  middle  ground  between  the  Hittites 
and  Assyria  on  the  east,  also  between  them  and 
Babylon  on  the  south-east ;  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
was  in  close  alliance  with  the  Hittites.  Suppose  then 
that  the  Hittite  king,  who  at  first  regarded  the  Hebrews 
with  indifference,  was  now  beginning  to  view  them  with 
distrust  or  to  fear  them  as  a  people  bent  on  their  own 
ends,  not  to  be  reckoned  on  for  help  against  Egypt,  and 
we  can  easily  see  that  he  might  be  more  than  ready  to 
assist  the  Mesopotamians  in  their  attack  on  the  tribes. 
To  this  we  may  add  a  hint  which  is  derived  from 
Balaam's  connection  with  Pethor,  and  the  kind  of 
advice  he  was  in  the  way  of  giving  to  those  who 
consulted  him.     Does  it  not  seem  probable  enough  that 


lii.  i-ii.]    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTIINIEL.       71 

some  counsel  of  his  survived  his  death  and  now  guided 
the  action  of  the  king  of  Aram  ?  Balaam,  by  profession 
a  soothsayer,  was  evidently  a  great  political  personage 
of  his  time,  foreseeing,  crafty  and  vindictive.  Methods 
of  his  for  suppressing  Israel,  the  force  of  whose  genius 
he  fully  recognised,  were  perhaps  sold  to  more  than 
one  kingly  employer.  ''The  land  of  the  children  of 
his  people  "  would  almost  certainly  keep  his  counsel 
in  mind  and  seek  to  avenge  his  death.  Thus  against 
Israel  particularly  among  the  dwellers  in  Canaan  the 
arms  of  Cushan-rishathaim  would  be  directed,  and  the 
Hittites,  who  scarcely  found  it  needful  to  attack  Israel 
for  their  own  safety,  would  facilitate  his  march. 

Here  then  we  may  trace  the  revival  of  a  feud  which 
seemed  to  have  died  away  fifty  years  before.  Neither 
nations  nor  men  can  easily  escape  from  the  enmity 
they  have  incurred  and  the  entanglements  of  their 
history.  When  years  have  elapsed  and  strifes  appear 
to  have  been  buried  in  oblivion,  suddenly,  as  if  out 
of  the  grave,  the  past  is  apt  to  arise  and  confront  us, 
sternly  demanding  the  payment  of  its  reckoning.  We 
once  did  another  grievous  wrong,  and  now  our  fondly 
cherished  belief  that  the  man  we  injured  had  forgotten 
our  injustice  is  completely  dispelled.  The  old  anxiety, 
the  old  terror  breaks  in  afresh  upon  our  lives.  Or  it 
was  in  doing  our  duty  that  we  braved  the  enmity  of 
evil-minded  men  and  punished  their  crimes.  But 
though  they  have  passed  away  their  bitter  hatred 
bequeathed  to  others  still  survives.  Now  the  battle 
of  justice  and  fidelity  has  to  be  fought  over  again,  and 
well  is  it  for  us  if  we  are  found  ready  in  the  strength 
of  God. 

And,  in  another  aspect,  how  futile  is  the  dream  some 
indulge  of  getting  rid  of  their  history,  passing  beyond 


72  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

the  memory  or  resurrection  of  what  has  been.  Shall 
Divine  forgiveness  obliterate  those  deeds  of  which  we 
have  repented  ?  Then  the  deeds  being  forgotten  the 
forgiveness  too  would  pass  into  oblivion  and  all  the 
gain  of  faith  and  gratitude  it  brought  would  be  lost. 
Do  we  expect  never  to  retrace  in  memory  the  way  we 
have  travelled  ?  As  well  might  we  hope,  retaining  our 
personality,  to  become  other  men  than  we  are.  The 
past,  good  and  evil,  remains  and  will  remain,  that 
we  may  be  kept  humble  and  moved  to  ever-increas- 
ing thankfulness  and  fervour  of  soul.  We  rise  ''on 
stepping-stones  of  our  dead  selves  to  higher  things,"  and 
every  forgotten  incident  by  which  moral  education  has 
been  provided  for  must  return  to  light.  The  heaven 
we  hope  for  is  not  to  be  one  of  forgetfuliiess,  but  a  state 
bright  and  free  through  remembrance  of  the  grace  that 
saved  us  at  every  stage  and  the  circumstances  of  our 
salvation.  As  yet  we  do  not  half  know  what  God  has 
done  for  us,  what  His  providence  has  been.  There 
must  be  a  resurrection  of  old  conflicts,  strifes,  defeats 
and  victories  in  order  that  we  may  understand  the 
grace  which  is  to  keep  us  safe  for  ever. 

Attacked  by  Cushan  of  the  Two  Crimes  the  Israelites 
were  in  evil  case.  They  had  not  the  consciousness  of 
Divine  support  which  sustained  them  once.  They  had 
forsaken  Him  whose  presence  in  the  camp  made  their 
arms  victorious.  Now  they  must  face  the  conse- 
quences of  their  fathers'  deeds  without  their  fathers' 
heavenly  courage.  Had  they  still  been  a  united  nation 
full  of  faith  and  hope,  the  armies  of  Aram  would  have 
assailed  them  in  vain.  But  they  were  without  the 
spirit  which  the  crisis  required.  For  eight  years  the 
northern  tribes  had  to  bear  a  sore  oppression,  soldiers 
quartered  in  their  cities,  tribute  exacted  at  the  point 


iii.  i-ii.]    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.        73 


of  the  sword,  their  harvests  enjoyed  by  others.  The 
stern  lesson  was  taught  them  that  Canaan  was  to  be 
no  peaceful  habitation  for  a  people  that  renounced  the 
purpose  of  its  existence.  The  struggle  became  more 
hopeless  year  by  year,  the  state  of  affairs  more  wretched. 
So  at  last  the  tribes  were  driven  by  stress  of  persecu- 
tion and  calamity  to  call  again  on. the  name  of  God,  and 
some  faint  hope  of  succour  broke  like  a  misty  morning 
over  the  land. 

It  was  from  the  far  south  that  help  came  in  response 
to  the  piteous  cry  of  the  oppressed  in  the  north  ;  the 
deliverer  was  Othniel,  who  has  already  appeared  in  the 
history.  After  his  marriage  with  Achsah,  daughter  of 
Caleb,  we  must  suppose  him  living  as  quietly  as  possi- 
ble in  his  south-lying  farm,  there  increasing  in  import- 
ance year  by  year  till  now  he  is  a  respected  chief  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah.  In  frequent  skirmishes  with  Arab 
marauders  from  the  wilderness  he  has  distinguished 
himself,  maintaining  the  fame  of  his  early  exploit. 
Better  still,  he  is  one  of  those  who  have  kept  the  great 
traditions  of  the  nation,  a  man  mindful  of  the  law  of 
God,  deriving  strength  of  character  from  fellowship 
with  the  Almighty.  "  The  Spirit  of  Jehovah  came 
upon  him  and  he  judged  Israel ;  and  he  went  out  to 
war,  and  Jehovah  delivered  Cushan-rishathaim  king 
of  Mesopotamia  into  his  hand." 

''  He  judged  Israel  and  went  out  to  war."  Signifi- 
cant is  the  order  of  these  statements.  The  judging  of 
Israel  by  this  man,  on  whom  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  was, 
meant  no  doubt  inquisition  into  the  religious  and  moral 
state,  condemnation  of  the  idolatry  of  the  tribes  and  a 
restoration  to  some  extent  of  the  worship  of  God.  In 
no  other  way  could  the  strength  of  Israel  be  revived. 
The  people  had  to  be  healed  before  they  could  fight. 


74  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

and  the  needed  cure  was  spiritual.  Hopeless  invariably 
have  been  the  efforts  of  oppressed  peoples  to  deliver 
themselves  unless  some  trust  in  a  divine  power  has 
given  them  heart  for  the  struggle.  When  we  see  an 
army  bow  in  prayer  as  one  man  before  joining  battle, 
as  the  Swiss  did  at  Morat  and  the  Scots  at  Bannock- 
burn,  we  have  faith  in  their  spirit  and  courage,  for 
they  are  feeling  their  dependence  in  the  Supernatural. 
Othniel's  first  care  was  to  suppress  idolatry,  to  teach 
Israelites  anew  the  forgotten  name  and  law  of  God 
and  their  destiny  as  a  nation.  Well  did  he  know  that 
this  alone  would  prepare  the  way  for  success.  Then, 
having  gathered  an  army  fit  for  his  purpose,  he  was 
not  long  in  sweeping  the  garrisons  of  Cushan  out  of 
the  land. 

Judgment  and  then  deliverance ;  judgment  of  the 
mistakes  and  sins  men  have  committed,  thereby  bringing 
themselves  into  trouble  ;  conviction  of  sin  and  righteous- 
ness ;  thereafter  guidance  and  help  that  their  feet  may 
be  set  on  a  rock  and  their  goings  established — this  is 
the  right  sequence.  That  God  should  help  the  proud, 
the  self-sufficient  out  of  their  troubles  in  order  that 
they  may  go  on  in  pride  and  vainglory,  or  that  He 
should  save  the  vicious  from  the  consequences  of  their 
vice  and  leave  them  to  persist  in  their  iniquity,  would  be 
no  Divine  w^ork.  The  new  mind  and  the  right  spirit 
must  be  put  in  men,  they  must  hear  their  condemnation, 
lay  it  to  heart  and  repent,  there  must  be  a  revival  of 
holy  purpose  and  aspiration  first.  Then  the  oppressors 
will  be  driven  from  the  land,  the  weight  of  trouble  lifted 
from  the  soul. 

Othniel  the  first  of  the  judges  seems  one  of  the  best. 
He  is  not  a  man  of  mere  rude  strength  and  dashing 
enterprise.     Nor  is  he  one  who  runs  the  risk  of  sudden 


iii.  i-ii.]    THE  ARM  OF  ARAM  AND   OF  OTHNIEL.       75 

elevation  to  power,  which  few  can  stand.  A  person  of 
acknowledged  honour  and  sagacity,  he  sees  the  pro- 
blem of  the  time  and  does  his  best  to  solve  it.  He  is 
almost  unique  in  this,  that  he  appears  without  offence, 
without  shame.  And  his  judgeship  is  honourable  to 
Israel.  It  points  to  a  higher  level  of  thought  and 
greater  seriousness  among  the  tribes  than  in  the  century 
when  Jephthah  and  Samson  were  the  acknowledged 
heroes.  The  nation  had  not  lost  its  reverence  for  the 
great  names  and  hopes  of  the  exodus  when  it  obeyed 
Othniel  and  followed  him  to  battle. 

In  modern  times  there  would  seem  to  be  scarcely 
any  understanding  of  the  fact  that  no  man  can  do  real 
service  as  a  political  leader  unless  he  is  a  fearer  of 
God,  one  who  loves  righteousness  more  than  country, 
and  serves  the  Eternal  before  any  constituency.  Some- 
times a  nation  low  enough  in  morality  has  been  so  far 
awake  to  its  need  and  danger  as  to  give  the  helm,  at 
least  for  a  time,  to  a  servant  of  truth  and  righteousness 
and  to  follow  where  he  leads.  But  more  commonly  is 
it  the  case  that  political  leaders  are  chosen  anywhere 
rather  than  from  the  ranks  of  the  spiritually  earnest. 
It  is  oratorical  dash  now,  and  now  the  cleverness  of  the 
intriguer,  or  the  power  of  rank  and  wealth,  that  catches 
popular  favour  and  exalts  a  man  in  the  state.  Members 
of  parliament,  cabinet  ministers,  high  officials  need 
have  no  devoutness,  no  spiritual  seriousness  or  insight. 
A  nation  generally  seeks  no  such  character  in  its 
legislators  and  is  often  content  with  less  than  decent 
morahty.  Is  it  then  any  wonder  that  politics  are  arid 
and  government  a  series  of  errors  ?  We  need  men 
who  have  the  true  idea  of  liberty  and  will  set  nations 
nominally  Christian  on  the  way  of  fulfilling  their 
mission  to  the  world.    When  the  people  want  a  spiritual 


76  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

leader  he  will  appear ;  when  they  are  ready  to  follow 
one  of  high  and  pure  temper  he  will  arise  and  show 
the  way.  But  the  plain  truth  is  that  our  chiefs  in  the 
state,  in  society  and  business  must  be  the  men  who 
represent  the  general  opinion,  the  general  aim.  While 
we  are  in  the  main  a  worldly  people,  the  best  guides, 
those  of  spiritual  mind,  will  never  be  allowed  to  carry 
their  plans.  And  so  we  come  back  to  the  main  lesson 
of  the  whole  history,  that  only  as  each  citizen  is 
thoughtful  of  God  and  of  duty,  redeemed  from  selfish- 
ness and  the  world,  can  there  be  a  true  commonwealth, 
honourable  government,  beneficent  civiUzation, 


VI. 

THE  DAGGER  AND   THE  OX-GOAD, 
Judges  iii.  12-31. 

THE  world  is  served  by  men  of  very  diverse  kinds, 
and  we  pass  now  to  one  who  is  in  strong  con- 
trast to  Israel's  first  deliverer.  Othniel  the  judge  with- 
out reproach  is  followed  by  Ehud  the  regicide.  The 
long  peace  which  the  country  enjoyed  after  the  Mesopota- 
mian  army  was  driven  out  allowed  a  return  of  prosperity 
and  with  it  a  relaxing  of  spiritual  tone.  Again  there 
was  disorganization ;  again  the  Hebrew  strength  decayed 
and  watchful  enemies  found  an  opportunity.  The 
Moabites  led  the  attack,  and  their  king  was  at  the 
head  of  a  federation  including  the  Ammonites  and 
the  Amalekites.  It  was  this  coalition  the  power  of 
which  Ehud  had  to  break. 

We  can  only  surmise  the  causes  of  the  assault  made 
on  the  Hebrews  west  of  Jordan  by  those  peoples  on 
the  east.  When  the  Israelites  first  appeared  on  the 
plains  of  the  Jordan  under  the  shadow  of  the  mountains 
of  Moab,  before  crossing  into  Palestine  proper,  Balak 
king  of  Moab  viewed  with  alarm  this  new  nation  which 
was  advancing  to  seek  a  settlement  so  near  his 
territory.  It  was  then  he  sent  to  Pethor  for  Balaam, 
in  the  hope  that  by  a  powerful  incantation  or  curse 
the  great  diviner  would  blight  the  Hebrew  armies  and 


78  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

make  them  an  easy  prey.  Notwithstanding  this  scheme, 
which  even  to  the  Israelites  did  not  appear  contemptible, 
Moses  so  far  respected  the  relationship  between  Moab 
and  Israel  that  he  did  not  attack  Balak's  kingdom, 
although  at  the  time  it  had  been  weakened  by  an 
unsuccessful  contest  with  the  Amorites  from  Gilead. 
Moab  to  the  south  and  Ammon  to  the  north  were  both 
left  unharmed. 

But  to  Reuben,  Gad  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
was  allotted  the  land  from  which  the  Amorites  had 
been  completely  driven,  a  region  extending  from  the 
frontier  of  Moab  on  the  south  away  towards  Hermon 
and  the  Argob  ;  and  these  tribes  entering  vigorously  on 
their  possession  could  not  long  remain  at  peace  with 
the  bordering  races.  We  can  easily  see  how  their 
encroachments,  their  growing  strength  would  vex  Moab 
and  Ammon  and  drive  them  to  plans  of  retaliation. 
Balaam  had  not  cursed  Israel ;  he  had  blessed  it,  and 
the  blessing  was  being  fulfilled.  It  seemed  to  be 
decreed  that  all  other  peoples  east  of  Jordan  were  to 
be  overborne  by  the  descendants  of  Abraham ;  yet  one 
fear  wrought  against  another,  and  the  hour  of  Israel's 
security  was  seized  as  a  fit  occasion  for  a  vigorous 
sally  across  the  river.  A  desperate  effort  was  made 
to  strike  at  the  heart  of  the  Hebrew  power  and  assert 
the  claims  of  Chemosh  to  be  a  greater  god  than  He 
Who  was  reverenced  at  the  sanctuary  of  the  ark. 

Or  Amalek  may  have  instigated  the  attack.  Away 
in  the  Sinaitic  wilderness  there  stood  an  altar  which 
Moses  had  named  Jehovah-Nissi,  Jehovah  is  my 
banner,  and  that  altar  commemorated  a  great  victory 
gained  by  Israel  over  the  Amalekites.  The  greater 
part  of  a  century  had  gone  by  since  the  battle,  but 
the  memory  of  defeat  lingers  long  with  the  Arab — and 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND   THE   OX-GOAD.  79 

these  Amalekites  were  pure  Arabs,  savage,  vindictive, 
chGrishing  their  cause  of  war,  waiting  their  revenge. 
We  know  the  command  in  Deuteronomy,  "  Remember 
what  Amalek  did  unto  thee  by  the  way,  when  ye  were 
come  forth  out  of  Egypt.  How  he  met  thee  by  the 
way  and  smote  the  hindmost  of  thee,  even  all  that 
were  feeble  behind  thee.  Thou  shalt  blot  out  the 
remembrance  of  Amalek  from  under  heaven.  Thou 
shalt  not  forget  it."  We  may  be  sure  that  Reuben  and 
Gad  did  not  forget  the  dastardly  attack;  we  may  be 
sure  that  Amalek  did  not  forget  the  day  of  Rephidim. 
If  Moab  was  not  of  itself  disposed  to  cross  the  Jordan 
and  fall  on  Benjamin  and  Ephraim,  there  was  the 
urgency  of  Amalek,  the  proffered  help  of  that  fiery 
people  to  ripen  decision.  The  ferment  of  war  rose. 
Moab,  having  walled  cities  to  form  a  basis  of  operations, 
took  the  lead.  The  confederates  marched  northward 
along  the  Dead  Sea,  seized  the  ford  near  Gilgal  and 
mastering  the  plain  of  Jericho  pushed  their  conquest 
beyond  the  hills.  Nor  was  it  a  temporary  advance. 
They  established  themselves.  Eighteen  years  after- 
wards we  find  Eglon,  in  his  palace  or  castle  near  the 
City  of  Palm  Trees,  claiming  authority  over  all  Israel. 

So  the  Hebrew  tribes,  partly  by  reason  of  an  old 
strife  not  forgotten,  partly  because  they  have  gone  on 
vigorously  adding  to  their  territory,  again  suffer  assault 
and  are  brought  under  oppression,  and  the  coalition 
against  them  reminds  us  of  confederacies  that  are  in 
full  force  to-day.  Ammon  and  Moab  are  united  against 
the  church  of  Christ,  and  Amalek  joins  in  the  attack. 
The  parable  is  one,  we  shall  say,  of  the  opposition  the 
church  is  constantly  provoking,  constantly  experiencing, 
not  entirely  to  its  own  credit.  Allowing  that,  in  the 
main,Christainity  is  truly  and  honestly  aggressive,  that 


8o  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

on  its  march  to  the  heights  it  does  straight  battle  with 
the  enemies  of  mankind  and  thus  awakens  the  hatred 
of  bandit  Amaleks,  yet  this  is  not  a  complete  account 
of  the  assaults  which  are  renewed  century  after  century. 
Must  it  not  be  owned  that  those  who  pass  for  Chris- 
tians often  go  beyond  the  lines  and  methods  of  their 
proper  warfare  and  are  found  on  fields  where  the 
weapons  are  carnal  and  the  fight  is  not  "  the  good  fight 
of  faith "  ?  There  is  a  strain  of  modern  talk  which 
defends  the  worldly  ambition  of  Christian  men,  sounding 
very  hollow  and  insincere  to  all  excepting  those  whose 
interest  and  illusion  it  is  to  think  it  heavenly.  We 
hear  from  a  thousand  tongues  the  gospel  of  Christian- 
ized commerce,  of  sanctified  success,  of  making  business 
a  religion.  In  the  press  and  hurry  of  competition 
there  is  a  less  and  a  greater  conscientiousness.  Let 
men  have  it  in  the  greater  degree,  let  them  be  less 
anxious  for  speedy  success  than  some  they  know,  not 
quite  so  eager  to  add  factory  to  factory  and  field  to 
field,  more  careful  to  interpret  bargains  fairly  and  do 
good  work  ;  let  them  figure  often  as  benefactors  and  be 
free  with  their  money  to  the  church,  and  the  residue  of 
worldly  ambition  is  glorified,  being  sufficient,  perhaps, 
to  develop  a  merchant  prince,  a  railway  king,  a 
"millionaire"  of  the  kind  the  age  adores.  Thus  it 
comes  to  pass  that  the  domain  which  appeared  safe 
enough  from  the  followers  of  Him  who  sought  no  power 
in  the  earthly  range  is  invaded  by  men  who  reckon 
all  their  business  efforts  privileged  under  the  laws  of 
heaven,  and  every  advantage  they  win  a  Divine  plan 
for  wresting  money  from  the  hands  of  the  devil. 

Now  it  is  upon  Christianity  as  approving  all  this 
that  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites  of  our  day  are  falling. 
They  are  frankly  worshippers  of  Chemosh  and  Milcom, 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND   THE   OX-GOAD.  8i 

not  of  Jehovah ;  they  believe  in  wealth,  their  all  is 
staked  on  the  earthly  prosperity  and  enjoyment  for 
which  they  strive.  It  is  too  bad,  they  feel,  to  have 
their  sphere  and  hopes  curtailed  by  men  who  profess 
no  respect  for  the  world,  no  desire  for  its  glory  but 
a  constant  preference  for  things  unseen  ;  they  writhe 
when  they  consider  the  triumphs  wrested  from  them 
by  rivals  who  count  success  an  answer  to  prayer  and 
believe  themselves  favourites  of  God.  Or  the  frank 
heathen  finds  that  in  business  a  man  professing  Chris- 
tianity in  the  customary  way  is  as  little  cumbered  as 
himself  by  any  disdain  of  tarnished  profits  and  ^' smart" 
devices.  What  else  can  be  expected  but  that,  driven 
back  and  back  by  the  energy  of  Christians  so  called, 
the  others  shall  begin  to  think  Christianity  itself  largely 
a  pretence  ?  Do  we  wonder  to  see  the  revolution  in 
France  hurling  its  forces  not  only  against  wealth  and 
rank,  but  also  against  the  religion  identified  with  wealth 
and  rank  ?  Do  we  wonder  to  see  in  our  day  sociaHsm, 
which  girds  at  great  fortunes  as  an  insult  to  humanity, 
joining  hands  with  agnosticism  and  secularism  to  make 
assault  on  the  church  ?  It  is  precisely  what  might  be 
looked  for ;  nay,  more,  the  opposition  will  go  on  till 
Christian  profession  is  purged  of  hypocrisy  and  Chris- 
tian practice  is  harmonized  with  the  law  of  Christ. 
Not  the  push,  not  the  equivocal  success  of  one  person 
here  and  there  is  it  that  creates  doubt  of  Christianity 
and  provokes  antagonism,  but  the  whole  systems  of 
society  and  business  in  so-called  Christian  lands,  and 
even  the  conduct  of  affairs  within  the  church,  the  strain 
of  feeling  there.  For  in  the  church  as  without  it 
wealth  and  rank  are  important  in  themselves,  and  make 
some  important  who  have  little  or  no  other  claim  to 
respect.      In  the  church   as   without   it   methods   are 

6 


82  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES.       . 

adopted  that  involve  large  outlay  and  a  constant  need 
for  the  support  of  the  wealthy ;  in  the  church  as  with- 
out it  life  depends  too  much  on  the  abundance  of  the 
things  that  are  possessed.  And,  in  the  not  unfair  judg- 
ment of  those  who  stand  outside,  all  this  proceeds  from 
a  secret  doubt  of  Christ's  law  and  authority,  which  more 
than  excuses  their  own  denial.  The  strifes  of  the  day, 
even  those  that  turn  on  the  Godhead  of  Christ  and  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  on  the  divine  claim 
of  the  church,  are  not  due  solely  to  hatred  of  truth  and 
the  depravity  of  the  human  heart.  They  have  more 
reason  than  the  church  has  yet  confessed.  Christianity 
in  its  practical  and  speculative  aspects  is  one ;  it  cannot 
be  a  creed  unless  it  is  a  life.  It  is  essentially  a  life  not 
conformed  to  this  world,  but  transformed,  redeemed. 
Our  faith  will  stand  secure  from  all  attacks,  vindicated 
as  a  supernatural  revelation  and  inspiration,  when  the 
whole  of  church  hfe  and  Christian  endeavour  shall  rise 
above  the  earthly  and  be  manifest  everywhere  as  a 
fervent  striving  for  the  spiritual  and  eternal. 

We  have  been  assuming  the  unfaithfulness  of  Israel 
to  its  duty  and  vocation.  The  people  of  God,  instead 
of  commending  His  faith  by  their  neighbourliness  and 
generosity,  were,  we  fear,  too  often  proud  and  selfish, 
seeking  their  own  things  not  the  well-being  of  others, 
sending  no  attractive  light  into  the  heathenism  around. 
Moab  was  akin  to  the  Hebrews  and  in  many  respects 
similar  in  character.  When  we  come  to  the  Book  of 
Ruth  we  find  ascertain  intercourse  between  the  two. 
Ainmon,  more  unsettled  and  barbarous,  was  of  the 
same  stock.  Israel,  giving  nothing  to  these  peoples,  but 
taking  all  she  could  from  them,  provoked  antagonism 
all  the  more  bitter  that  they  were  of  kin  to  her,  and 
they  felt  no  scruple  when  their  opportunity  came.     Not 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND   THE   OX-GOAD.  83 

only  had  the  Israelites  to  suffer  for  their  failure,  but 
Moab  and  Ammon  also.  The  wrong  beginning  of  the 
relations  between  them  was  never  undone.  Moab  and 
Ammon  went  on  worshipping  their  own  gods,  enemies 
of  Israel  to  the  last. 

Ehud  appears  a  deliverer.  He  was  a  Benjamite,  a 
man  left-handed ;  he  chose  his  own  method  of  action, 
and  it  was  to  strike  directly  at  the  Moabite  king. 
Eager  words  regarding  the  shamefulness  of  Israel's 
subjection  had  perhaps  already  marked  him  as  a  leader, 
and  it  may  have  been  with  the  expectation  that  he  would 
do  a  bold  deed  that  he  was  chosen  to  bear  the  periodical 
tribute  on  this  occasion  to  Eglon's  palace.  Girding  a 
long  dagger  under  his  garment  on  his  right  thigh,  where 
if  found  it  might  appear  to  be  worn  without  evil  intent, 
he  set  out  with  some  attendants  to  the  Moabite  head- 
quarters. The  narrative  is  so  vivid  that  we  seem  able 
to  follow  Ehud  step  by  step.  He  has  gone  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Jebus  to  Jericho,  perhaps  by  the  road 
in  which  the  scene  of  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  Good 
Samaritan  was  long  afterwards  laid.  Having  delivered 
the  tribute  into  the  hands  of  Eglon  he  goes  southward 
a  few  miles  to  the  sculptured  stones  at  Gilgal,  where 
possibly  some  outpost  of  the  Moabites  kept  guard. 
There  he  leaves  his  attendants,  and  swiftly  retracing 
his  steps  to  the  palace  craves  a  private  interview  with 
the  king  and  announces  a  message  from  God,  at  Whose 
name  Eglon  respectfully  rises  from  his  seat.  One  flash 
of  the  dagger  and  the  bloody  deed  is  done.  Leaving 
the  king's  dead  body  there  in  the  chamber,  Ehud  bolts 
the  door  and  boldly  passes  the  attendants,  then  quicken- 
ing his  pace  is  soon  beyond  Gilgal  and  away  by  another 
route  through  the  steep  hills  to  the  mountains  of 
Ephraim.     Meanwhile   the  murder   is  discovered   and 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

there  is  confusion  at  the  palace.  No  one  being  at 
hand  to  give  orders,  the  garrison  is  unprepared  to  act, 
and  as  Ehud  loses  no  time  in  gathering  a  band  and 
returning  to  finish  his  work,  the  fords  of  Jordan  are 
taken  before  the  Moabites  can  cross  to  the  eastern 
side.  They  are  caught,  and  the  defeat  is  so  decisive 
that  Israel  is  free  again  for  fourscore  years. 

Now  this  deed  of  Ehud's  was  clearly  a  case  of 
assassination,  and  as  such  we  have  to  consider  it.  The 
crime  is  one  which  stinks  in  our  nostrils  because  it 
is  associated  with  treachery  and  cowardice,  the  basest 
revenge  or  the  most  undisciplined  passion.  But  if 
we  go  back  to  times  of  ruder  morality  and  regard  the 
circumstances  of  such  a  people  as  Israel,  scattered  and 
oppressed,  waiting  for  a  sign  of  bold  energy  that  may 
give  it  new  heart,  we  can  easily  see  that  one  who  chose 
to  act  as  Ehud  did  would  by  no  means  incur  the  repro- 
bation we  now  attach  to  the  assassin:  To  go  no  farther 
back  than  the  French  Revolution  and  the  deed  of  Char- 
lotte Corday,  we  cannot  reckon  her  among  the  basest — 
that  woman  of  "  the  beautiful  still  countenance  "  who 
believed  her  task  to  be  the  duty  of  a  patriot.  Never- 
theless, it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  complete  defence  of 
Ehud.  His  act  was  treacherous.  The  man  he  slew 
was  a  legitimate  king,  and  is  not  said  to  have  done  his 
ruling  ill.  Even  allowing  for  the  period,  there  was 
something  peculiarly  detestable  in  striking  one  to  death 
who  stood  up  reverently  expecting  a  message  from 
God.  Yet  Ehud  may  have  thoroughly  believed  himself 
to  be  a  Divine  instrument. 

This  too  we  see,  that  the  great  just  providence  of  the 
Almighty  is  not  impeached  by  such  an  act.  No  word 
in  the  narrative  justifies  assassination  ;  but,  being  done, 
place  is  found  for  it  as  a  thing  overruled  for  good  in  the 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND    THE   OX-GOAD.  85 

development  of  Israel's  history.  Man  has  no  defence 
for  his  treachery  and  violence,  yet  in  the  process  of 
events  the  barbarous  deed,  the  fierce  crime,  are  shown 
to  be  under  the  control  of  the  Wisdom  that  guides  all 
men  and  things.  And  here  the  issue  which  justifies 
Divine  providence,  though  it  does  not  purge  the  criminal, 
is  clear.  For  through  Ehud  a  genuine  deliverance  was 
wrought  for  Israel.  The  nation,  curbed  by  aliens,  over- 
borne by  an  idolatrous  power,  was  free  once  more  to 
move  toward  the  great  spiritual  end  for  which  it  had 
been  created.  We  might  be  disposed  to  say  that  on 
the  whole  Israel  made  nothing  of  freedom,  that  the 
faith  of  God  revived  and  the  heart  of  the  people  became 
devout  in  times  of  oppression  rather  than  of  liberty. 
In  a  sense  it  was  so,  and  the  story  of  this  people  is  the 
story  of  all,  for  men  go  to  sleep  over  their  best,  they 
misuse  freedom,  they  forget  why  they  are  free.  Yet 
every  eulogy  of  freedom  is  true.  Man  must  even  have 
the  power  of  misusing  it  if  he  is  to  arrive  at  the  best. 
It  is  in  liberty  that  manhood  is  nursed,  and  therefore 
in  liberty  that  religion  matures.  Autocratic  laws  mean 
tyranny,  and  tyranny  denies  the  soul  its  responsibility 
to  justice,  truth,  and  God.  Mind  and  conscience  held 
from  their  high  office,  responsibility  to  the  greatest 
overborne  by  some  tyrant  hand  that  may  seem  beneficent, 
the  soul  has  no  space,  faith  no  room  to  breathe ;  man 
is  kept  from  the  spontaneity  and  gladness  of  his  proper 
life.  So  we  have  to  win  liberty  in  hard  struggle  and 
know  ourselves  free  in  order  that  we  may  belong  com- 
pletely to  God. 

See  how  Hfe  advances  !  God  deals  with  the  human 
race  according  to  a  vast  plan  of  discipline  leading  to 
heights  which  at  first  appear  inaccessible.  Freedom  is 
one  of  the  first  of  these,  and  only  by  way  of  it  are  the 


86  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

higher  summits  reached.  During  the  long  ages  of  dark 
and  weary  struggle,  which  seem  to  many  but  a  fruitless 
martyrdom,  the  Divine  idea  was  interfused  with  all 
the  strife.  Not  one  blind  stroke,  not  one  agony  of  the 
craving  soul  was  wasted.  In  all  the  wisdom  of  God 
wrought  for  man,  through  man's  pathetic  feebleness  or 
most  daring  achievement.  So  out  of  the  chaos  of  the 
gloomy  valleys  a  highway  of  order  was  raised  by  which 
the  race  should  mount  to  Freedom  and  thence  to  Faith. 

We  see  it  in  the  history  of  nations,  those  that  have 
led  the  way  and  those  that  are  following.  The  posses- 
sors of  clear  faith  have  won  it  in  liberty.  In  Switzerland, 
in  Scotland,  in  England,  the  order  has  been,  first  civil 
freedom,  then  Christian  thought  and  vigour.  Wallace 
and  Bruce  prepare  the  way  for  Knox ;  Boadicea, 
Hereward,  the  Barons  of  Magna  Charta  for  Wycliffe 
and  the  Reformation  ;  the  men  of  the  Swiss  Cantons 
who  won  Morgarten  and  routed  Charles  the  Bold  were 
the  forerunners  of  Zwingli  and  Farel.  Israel,  too, 
had  its  heroes  of  freedom  ;  and  even  those  who,  like 
Ehud  and  Samson,  did  little  or  nothing  for  faith  and 
struck  wildly,  wrongly  for  their  country,  did  yet  choose 
consciously  to  serve  their  people  and  were  helpers  of 
a  righteousness  and  a  holy  purpose  they  did  not  know. 
When  all  has  been  said  against  them  it  remains  true 
that  the  freedom  they  brought  to  Israel  was  a  Divine 
gift. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  Ehud  did  not  judge  Israel. 
He  was  a  deliverer,  but  nowise  fitted  to  exercise  high 
office  in  the  name  of  God.  In  some  way  not  made 
clear  in  the  narrative  he  had  become  the  centre  of  the 
resolute  spirits  of  Benjamin  and  was  looked  to  by  them 
to  find  an  opportunity  of  striking  at  the  oppressors. 
His  calling,  we  may  say,  was  human,  not  Divine ;  it  was 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND   THE   OX-GOAD.  87 

limited,  not  national ;  and  he  was  not  a  man  who  could 
rise  to  any  high  thought  of  leadership.  The  heads 
of  tribes,  ingloriously  paying  tribute  to  the  Moabites, 
may  have  scoffed  at  him  as  of  no  account.  Yet  he  did 
what  they  supposed  impossible.  The  little  rising  grew 
with  the  rapidity  of  a  thunder-cloud,  and,  when  it 
passed,  Moab,  smitten  as  by  a  hghtning  flash,  no  longer 
overshadowed  Israel.  As  for  the  deliverer,  his  work 
having  been  done  apparently  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days,  he  is  seen  no  more  in  the  history.  While  he 
lived,  however,  his  name  was  a  terror  to  the  enemies 
of  Israel,  for  what  he  had  effected  once  he  might  be 
depended  upon  to  do  again  if  necessity  arose.  And 
the  land  had  rest. 

Here  is  an  example  of  what  is  possible  to  the  obscure 
whose  qualifications  are  not  great,  but  who  have  spirit 
and  firmness,  who  are  not  afraid  of  dangers  and  priva- 
tions on  the  way  to  an  end  worth  gaining,  be  it  the 
deliverance  of  their  country,  the  freedom  or  purity  of 
their  church,  or  the  rousing  of  society  against  a  flagrant 
wrong.  Do  the  rich  and  powerful  angrily  refuse  their 
patronage  ?  Do  they  find  much  to  say  about  the 
impossibility  of  doing  anything,  the  evil  of  disturbing 
people's  minds,  the  duty  of  submission  to  Providence 
and  to  the^advice  of  wise  and  learned  persons  ?  Those 
who  see  the  time  and  place  for  acting,  who  hear  the 
clarion-call  of  duty,  will  not  be  deterred.  Armed  for 
their  task  with  fit  weapons — the  two-edged  dagger  of 
truth  for  the  corpulent  lie,  the  penetrating  stone  of  a 
just  scorn  for  the  forehead  of  arrogance,  they  have  the 
right  to  go  forth,  the  right  to  succeed,  though  probably 
when  the  stroke  has  told  many  will  be  heard  lamenting 
its  untimeliness  and  proving  the  dangerous  indiscretion 
of  Ehud  and  all  who  followed  him. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


In  the  same  line  another  type  is  represented  by 
Shamgar,  son  of  Anath,  the  man  of  the  ox-goad,  who 
considered  not  whether  he  was  equipped  for  attacking 
Philistines,  but  turned  on  them  from  the  plough,  his 
blood  leaping  in  him  with  swift  indignation.  The 
instrument  of  his  assault  was  not  made  for  the  use  to 
which  it  was  put :  the  power  lay  in  the  arm  that 
wielded  the  goad  and  the  fearless  will  of  the  man  who 
struck  for  his  own  birthright,  freedom, — for  Israel's 
birthright,  to  be  the  servant  of  no  other  race.  Un- 
doubtedly it  is  well  that,  in  any  efforts  made  for  the 
church  or  for  society,  men  should  consider  how  they 
are  to  act  and  should  furnish  themselves  in  the  best 
manner  for  the  work  that  is  to  be  done.  No  outfit  of 
knowledge,  skill,  experience  is  to  be  despised.  A  man 
does  not  serve  the  world  better  in  ignorance  than  in 
learning,  in  bluntness  than  in  refinement.  But  the 
serious  danger  for  such  an  age  as  our  own  is  that 
strength  may  be  frittered  away  and  zeal  expended  in 
the  mere  preparation  of  weapons,  in  the  mere  exercise 
before  the  war  begins.  The  important  points  at  issue 
are  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of,  and  the  vital  distinctions  on 
which  the  whole  battle  turns  to  fade  away  in  an  atmo- 
sphere of  compromise.  There  are  those  who,  to  begin, 
are  Israelites  indeed,  with  a  keen  sense  of  their  nation- 
ality, of  the  urgency  of  certain  great  thoughts  and  the 
example  of  heroes.  Their  nationality  becomes  less  and 
less  to  them  as  they  touch  the  world ;  the  great  thoughts 
begin  to  seem  parochial  and  antiquated ;  the  heroes 
are  found  to  have  been  mistaken,  their  names  cease 
to  thrill.  The  man  now  sees  nothing  to  fight  for,  he 
cares  only  to  go  on  perfecting  his  equipment.  Let  us 
do  him  justice.  It  is  not  the  toil  of  the  conflict  he 
shrinks  from,  but  the  rudeness  of  it,  the  dust  and  heai- 


iii.  12-31.]     THE  DAGGER  AND   THE   OX-GOAD.  89 

of  warfare.  He  is  no  voluntary  now,  for  he  values  the 
dignity  of  a  State  Church  and  feels  the  charm  of 
ancient  traditions.  He  is  not  a  good  churchman,  for 
he  will  not  be  pledged  to  any  creed  or  opposed  to  any 
school.  He  is  rarely  seen  on  any  political  platform, 
for  he  hates  the  watchwords  of  party.  And  this  is  the 
least  of  it.  He  is  a  man  without  a  cause,  a  believer 
without  a  faith,  a  Christian  without  a  stroke  of  brave 
work  to  do  in  the  world.  We  love  his  mildness ;  we 
admire  his  mental  possessions,  his  broad  sympathies. 
But  when  we  are  throbbing  with  indignation  he  is  too 
calm ;  when  we  catch  at  the  ox-goad  and  fly  at  the 
enemy  we  know  that  he  disdains  our  weapon  and  is 
affronted  by  our  fire.  Better,  if  it  must  be  so,  the 
rustic  from  the  plough,  the  herdsman  from  the  hill-side  ; 
better  far  he  of  the  camel's  hair  garment  and  the  keen 
cry.  Repent,  repent  ! 

Israel,  then,  appears  in  these  stories  of  her  iron  age 
as  the  cradle  of  the  manhood  of  the  modern  world ;  in 
Israel  the  true  standard  was  lifted  up  for  the  people. 
It  is  liberty  put  to  a  noble  use  that  is  the  mark  of 
manhood,  and  in  Israel's  history  the  idea  of  responsi- 
bility to  the  one  living  and  true  God  takes  form  and 
clearness  as  that  alone  which  fulfils  and  justifies  liberty. 
Israel  has  a  God  Whose  will  man  must  do,  and  for  the 
doing  of  it  he  is  free.  If  at  the  outset  the  vigour  which 
this  thought  of  God  infused  into  the  Hebrew  struggle 
for  independence  was  tempestuous  ;  if  Jehovah  was 
seen  not  in  the  majesty  of  eternal  justice  and  sublime 
magnanimity,  not  as  the  Friend  of  all,  but  as  the  unseen 
King  of  a  favoured  people, — still,  as  freedom  came, 
there  came  with  it  always,  in  some  prophetic  word, 
some  Divine  psalm,  a  more  living  conception  of  God 
as  gracious,  merciful,  holy,  unchangeable ;  and  notwith- 


90  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Standing  all  lapses  the  Hebrew  was  a  man  of  higher 
quality  than  those  about  him.  You  stand  by  the  cradle 
and  see  no  promise,  nothing  to  attract.  But  give  the 
faith  which  is  here  in  infancy  time  to  assert  itself,  give 
time  for  the  vision  of  God  to  enlarge,  and  the  finest 
type  of  human  life  will  arise  and  establish  itself,  a  type 
possible  in  no  other  way.  Egypt  with  its  long  and 
wonderful  history  gives  nothing  to  the  moral  life  of 
the  new  world,  for  it  produces  no  men.  Its  kings  are 
despots,  tomb-builders,  its  people  contented  or  dis- 
contented slaves.  Babylon  and  Nineveh  are  names 
that  dwarf  Israel's  into  insignificance,  but  their  power 
passes  and  leaves  only  some  monuments  for  the  anti- 
quarian, some  corroborations  of  a  Hebrew  record. 
Egypt  and  Chaldea,  Assyria  and  Persia  never  reached 
through  freedom  the  idea  of  man's  proper  life,  never 
rose  to  the  sense  of  that  sublime  calling  or  bowed  in 
that  profound  adoration  of  the  Holy  One  which  made 
the  Israelite,  rude  fanatic  as  he  often  was,  a  man  and 
a  father  of  men.  From  Egypt,  from  Bab3don, — yea, 
from  Greece  and  Rome  came  no  redeemer  of  mankind, 
for  they  grew  bewildered  in  the  search  after  the  chief 
end  of  existence  and  fell  before  they  found  it.  In  the 
prepared  people  it  was,  the  people  cramped  in  the 
narrow  land  between  the  Syrian  desert  and  the  sea, 
that  the  form  of  the  future  Man  was  seen,  and  there, 
where  the  human  spirit  felt  at  least,  if  it  did  not  realise 
its  dignity  and  place,  the  Messiah  was  born. 


VII. 

THE  SIBYL  OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM. 
Judges  iv. 

THERE  arises  now  in  Israel  a  prophetess,  one  of 
those  rare  women  whose  souls  burn  with  enthu- 
siasm and  holy  purpose  when  the  hearts  of  men  are 
abject  and  despondent ;  and  to  Deborah  it  is  given  to 
make  a  nation  hear  her  call.  Of  prophetesses  the 
world  has  seen  but  few ;  generally  the  woman  has  her 
work  of  teaching  and  administering  justice  in  the 
name  of  God  within  a  domestic  circle  and  finds  all  her 
energy  needed  there.  But  queens  have  reigned  with 
firm  nerve  and  clear  sagacity  in  many  a  land,  and 
now  and  again  a  woman's  voice  has  struck  the  deep 
note  which  has  roused  a  nation  to  its  duty.  Such  in 
the  old  Hebrew  days  was  Deborah,  wife  of  Lappidoth. 

It  was  a  time  of  miserable  thraldom  in  Israel  when 
she  became  aware  of  her  destiny  and  began  the  sacred 
enterprise  of  her  life.  From  Hazor  in  the  north  near 
the  waters  of  Merom  Israel  was  ruled  by  Jabin,  king 
of  the  Canaanites— not  the  first  of  the  name,  for 
Joshua  had  before  defeated  one  Jabin  king  of  Hazor, 
and  slain  him.  During  the  peace  that  followed  Ehud's 
triumph  over  Moab  the  Hebrews,  busy  with  worldly 
afiairs,  failed  to  estimate  a  danger  which  year  by  year 
became    more    definite    and   pressing — the  rise  of  the 


92  THE  BOOK  OB  JUDGES. 

ancient  strongholds  of  Canaan  and  their  chiefs  to  new 
activity  and  power.  Little  by  h'ttle  the  cities  Joshua 
destroyed  were  rebuilt,  re-fortified  and  made  centres  of 
warlike  preparation.  The  old  inhabitants  of  the  land 
recovered  spirit,  while  Israel  lapsed  into  foolish  con- 
fidence. At  Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles,  under  the 
shadow  of  Carmel,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kishon, 
armourers  were  busy  forging  weapons  and  building 
chariots  of  iron.  The  Hebrews  did  not  know  what 
was  going  on,  or  missed  the  purpose  that  should  have 
thrust  itself  on  their  notice.  Then  came  the  sudden 
rush  of  the  chariots  and  the  onset  of  the  Canaanite 
troops,  fierce,  irresistible.  Israel  was  subdued  and 
bowed  to  a  yoke  all  the  more  galling  that  it  was  a 
people  they  had  conquered  and  perhaps  despised  that 
now  rode  over  them.  In  the  north  at  least  the 
Hebrews  were  kept  in  servitude  for  twenty  years, 
suffered  to  remain  in  the  land  but  compelled  to  pay 
heavy  tribute,  many  of  them,  it  is  likely,  enslaved  or 
allowed  but  a  nominal  independence.  Deborah's  song 
vividly  describes  the  condition  of  things  in  her  country. 
Shamgar  had  made  a  clearance  on  the  Philistine  border 
and  kept  his  footing  as  a  leader,  but  elsewhere  the  land 
was  so  swept  by  Canaanite  spoilers  that  the  highways 
were  unused  and  Hebrew  travellers  kept  to  the  tortuous 
and  difficult  by-paths  down  in  the  glens  or  among  the 
mountains.  There  was  war  in  all  the  gates,  but  in 
Israelite  dwellings  neither  shield  nor  spear.  Defenceless 
and  crushed  the  people  lay  crying  to  gods  that  could 
not  save,  turning  ever  to  new  gods  in  strange  despair, 
the  national  state  far  worse  than  when  Cushan's  army 
held  the  land  or  when  Eglon  ruled  from  the  City  of 
Palm  Trees. 

Born  before  this  time  of  oppression  Deborah  spent 


iv.]  THE  SIBYL   OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM.  93 


her  childhood  and  youth  in  some  village  of  Issachar, 
her  home  a  rude  hut  covered  with  brushwood  and  clay, 
like    those   which    are    still    seen    by    travellers.     Her  ' 
parents,  we  must  believe,  had  more  religious  feeling  than 
was  common  among  Hebrews  of  the  time.     They  would 
speak  to  her  of  the  name  and  law  of  Jehovah,  and  she, 
we  doubt  not,  loved  to  hear.     But  with  the  exception 
of  brief  oral  traditions  fitfully  repeated  and  an  example 
of  reverence  for  sacred  times  and  duties,  a  mere  girl 
would  have    no   advantages.     Even  if  her  father  was 
chief  of  a  village  her  lot  would  be  hard  and  monotonous, 
as  she  aided  in  the  work  of  the  household  and  went 
morning  and  evening  to  fetch  water  from  the  spring 
or  tended  a  few  sheep  on  the  hill-side.     While  she  was 
yet  young  the  Canaanite  oppression   began,    and   she 
with    others    felt    the    tyranny   and    the    shame.     The 
soldiers  of  Jabin  came  and  lived  at  free  quarters  among 
the  villagers,  wasting  their  property.     The  crops  were 
perhaps  assessed,  as   they  are   at  the   present  day  in 
Syria,  before  they  were  reaped,  and  sometimes  half  or 
even  more  would  be  swept  away  by  the  remorseless 
collector  of  tribute.     The  people  turned  thriftless  and 
sullen.     They  had  nothing  to  gain  by  exerting  them- 
selves when  the    soldiers    and   the  tax-gatherer  were 
ready  to  exact  so  much  the  more,  leaving  them  still  in 
poverty.     Now  and  again  there  might  be  a  riot.     Mad- 
dened by  insults  and  extortion  the  men  of  the  village 
would  make  a  stand.     But  without  weapons,  without 
a   leader,    what   could    they    effect?      The    Canaanite 
troops    were   upon    them;    some    were    killed,    others 
carried  away,  and  things  became  worse  than  before. 
There  was  not  much  prospect  at  such  a  time  for  a 
Hebrew  maiden  whose  lot  it  seemed  to  be,  while  yet 
scarcely  out  of  her  childhood,  to  be  married  like  the 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

rest  and  sink  into  a  household  drudge,  toiling  for  a 
husband  who  in  his  turn  laboured  for  the  oppressor. 
But  there  was  a  way  then,  as  there  is  always  a  way 
for  the  high-spirited  to  save  life  from  bareness  and 
desolation  ;  and  Deborah  found  her  path.  Her  soul 
went  forth  to  her  people,  and  their  sad  state  moved  her 
to  something  more  than  a  woman's  grief  and  rebelhon. 
As  years  went  by  the  traditions  of  the  past  revealed 
their  meaning  to  her,  deeper  and  larger  thoughts  came, 
a  beginning  of  hope  for  the  tribes  so  downcast  and 
weary.  Once  they  had  swept  victoriously  through  the 
land  and  smitten  that  very  fortress  which  again  over- 
shadowed all  the  north.  It  was  in  the  name  of  Jehovah 
and  by  His  help  that  Israel  then  triumphed.  Clearly 
the  need  was  for  a  new  covenant  with  Him  ;  the  people 
must  repent  and  return  to  the  Lord.  Did  Deborah  put 
this  before  her  parents,  her  husband  ?  Doubtless  they 
agreed  with  her,  but  could  see  no  way  of  action,  no 
opportunity  for  such  as  they.  As  she  spoke  more  and 
more  eagerly,  as  she  ventured  to  urge  the  men  of  her 
village  to  bestir  themselves,  perhaps  a  few  were  moved, 
but  the  rest  heard  carelessly  or  derided  her.  We  can 
imagine  Deborah  in  that  time  of  trial  growing  up  into 
tall  and  striking  womanhood,  watching  with  indignation 
many  a  scene  in  which  her  people  showed  a  craven 
fear  or  joined  slavishly  in  heathen  revels.  As  she 
spoke  and  saw  her  words  bum  the  hearts  of  some  to 
whom  they  were  spoken,  the  sense  of  power  and  duty 
came.  In  vain  she  looked  for  a  prophet,  a  leader,  a 
man  of  Jehovah  to  rekindle  a  flame  in  the  nation's 
heart.  A  flame  I  It  was  in  her  own  soul,  she  might 
wake  it  in  other  souls ;  Jehovah  helping  her  she 
would. 

But   when   in   her   native   tribe   the   brave  woman 


iv.j  THE  SIBYL  OF  MOUNT  E  PER  AIM.  95 

Degan  to  urge  with  prophetic  eloquence  the  return  to 
God  and  to  preach  a  holy  war  her  time  of  peril  came. 
Issachar  lay  completely  under  the  survey  of  Jabin's 
officers,  overawed  by  his  chariots.  And  one  who  would 
deliver  a  servile  people  had  need  to  fear  treachery. 
Issachar  was  '^  a  strong  ass  couching  down  between 
the  sheepfolds"  ;  he  had  "bowed  his  shoulder  to  bear" 
and  become  "a  servant  under  task-work."  As  her 
purpose  matured  she  had  to  seek  a  place  of  safety 
and  influence,  and  passing  southward  she  found  it  in 
some  retired  spot  among  the  hills  between  Bethel  and 
Ramah,  some  nook  of  that  valley  which,  beginning  near 
Ai,  curves  eastward  and  narrows  at  Geba  to  a  rocky 
gorge  wdth  precipices  eight  hundred  feet  high, — the 
Valley  of  Achor,  of  which  Hosea  long  afterwards  said 
that  it  should  be  a  door  of  hope.  Here,  under  a  palm 
tree,  the  landmark  of  her  tent,  she  began  to  prophesy 
and  judge  and  grow  to  spiritual  power  among  the 
tribes.  It  was  a  new  thing  in  Israel  for  a  woman  to 
speak  in  the  name  of  God.  Her  utterances  had  no 
doubt  something  of  a  sibyllic  strain,  and  the  deep  or 
wild  notes  of  her  voice  pleading  for  Jehovah  or  raised 
in  passionate  warning  against  idolatry  touched  the 
finest  chords  of  the  Hebrew  soul.  In  her  rapture  she 
saw  the  Holy  One  coming  in  majesty  from  the  southern 
desert  where  Horeb  reared  its  sacred  peak ;  or  again, 
looking  into  the  future,  foretold  His  exaltation  in 
proud  triumph  over  the  gods  of  Canaan,  His  people 
free  once  more,  their  land  purged  of  every  heathen 
taint.  So  gradually  her  place  of  abode  became  a 
rendezvous  of  the  tribes,  a  seat  of  justice,  a  shrine 
of  reviving  hope.  Those  who  longed  for  righteous 
administration  came  to  her;  those  who  were  fearers 
of  Jehovah  gathered  about  her.     Gaining  wisdom  she 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

was  able  to  represent  to  a  rude  age  the  majesty  as  well 
as  the  purity  of  Divine  law,  to  establish  order  as  well 
as  to  communicate  enthusiasm.  The  people  felt  that 
sagacity  like  hers  and  a  spirit  so  sanguine  and  fearless 
must  be  the  gift  of  Jehovah ;  it  was  the  inspiration  of 
the  Almighty  that  gave  her  understanding. 

Deborah's  prophetical  utterances  are  not  to  be  tried 
by  the  standard  of  the  Isaian  age.  So  tested  some  of 
her  judgments  might  fail,  some  of  her  visions  lose  their 
charm.  She  had  no  clear  outlook  to  those  great 
principles  which  the  later  prophets  more  or  less  fully 
proclaimed.  Her  education  and  circumstances  and  her 
intellectual  power  determined  the  degree  in  which  she 
could  receive  Divine  illumination.  One  woman  before 
her  is  honoured  with  the  name  of  prophetess,  Miriam, 
the  sister  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  w^ho  led  the  refrain  of 
the  song  of  triumph  at  the  Red  Sea.  Miriam's  gift 
appears  limited  to  the  gratitude  and  ecstasy  of  one  day 
of  deliverance  ;  and  when  afterwards  on  the  strength 
of  her  share  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Exodus  she 
ventured  along  with  Aaron  to  claim  equality  with 
Moses,  a  terrible  rebuke  checked  her  presumption. 
Comparing  Miriam  and  Deborah,  we  find  as  great  an 
advance  from  the  one  to  the  other  as  from  Deborah  to 
Amos  or  Hosea.  But  this  only  shows  that  the  inspira- 
tion of  one  mind,  intense  and  ample  for  that  mind,  may 
come  far  short  of  the  inspiration  of  another.  God  do(^s 
not  give  every  prophet  the  same  insight  as  Moses,  for 
the  rare  and  splendid  genius  of  Moses  was  capable  of 
an  illumination  which  very  few  in  any  following  age 
have  been  able  to  receive.  Even  as  among  the  Apostles 
of  Christ  St.  Peter  shows  occasionally  a  lapse  from  the 
highest  Christian  judgment  for  which  St.  Paul  has  to 
take  him  to  task,  and  yet  does  not  cease  to  be  inspired, 


iv.]  THE  SIBYL   OF  MOUNT  ETHRAIM.  97 

SO  Deborah  is  not  to  be  denied  the  Divine  gift  though 
her  song  is  coloured  by  an  all  too  human  exultation 
over  a  fallen  enemy. 

It  is  simply  impossible  to  account  for  this  new  be- 
ginning in  Israel's  history  without  a  heavenly  impulse ;. 
and  through  Deborah  unquestionably  that  impulse  came. 
Others  were  turning  to  God,  but  she  broke  the  dark 
spell  which  held  the  tribes  and  taught  them  afresh  how 
to  believe  and  pray.  Under  her  palm  tree  there  were 
solemn  searchings  of  heart,  and  when  the  head  men 
of  the  clans  gathered  there,  travelling  across  the  moun- 
tains of  Ephraim  or  up  the  wadies  from  the  fords  of 
Jordan,  it  was  first  to  humble  themselves  for  the  sin 
of  idolatry,  and  then  to  undertake  with  sacred  oaths 
and  vows  the  serious  work  which  fell  to  them  in  Israel's 
time  of  need.  Not  all  came  to  ihat  solemn  rendezvous. 
When  is  such  a  gathering  completely  representative  ? 
Of  Judah  and  Simeon  we  hear  nothing.  Perhaps  they 
had  their  own  troubles  with  the  wandering  tribes  of 
the  desert;  perhaps  they  did  not  suffer  as  the  others 
from  Canaan ite  tyranny  and  therefore  kept  aloof. 
Reuben  on  the  other  side  Jordan  wavered,  Manasseh 
made  no  sign  of  sympathy ;  Asher,  held  in  check  by 
the  fortress  of  Hazor  and  the  garrison  of  Harosheth, 
chose  the  safe  part  of  inaction.  Dan  was  busy  trying 
to  establish  a  maritime  trade.  But  Ephraim  and 
L-enjamin,  Zebulun  and  Naphtali  were  forward  in  the 
revival,  and  proudly  the  record  is  made  on  behalf  of 
her  native  tribe,  ^'  the  princes  of  Issachar  were  with 
Deborah."  Months  passed ;  the  movement  grew 
steadily,  there  was  a  stirring  among  the  dry  bones,  a 
resurrection  of  hope  and  purpose. 

And  with  all  the  care  used  this  could  not  be  hid  from 
the  Canaanites.     For  doubtless  in  not  a  few  Israelite 

7 


98  THE  BOOK   OF  JUDGES. 

homes  heathen  wives  and  half-heathen  children  would 
be  apt  to  spy  and  betray.  It  goes  hardly  with  men 
if  they  have  bound  themselves  by  any  tie  to  those 
who  will  not  only  fail  in  sympathy  when  religion  makes 
demands,  but  will  do  their  utmost  to  thwart  serious 
ambitions  and  resolves.  jK  man  is  terribly  compromised 
who  has  pledged  himself  to  a  woman  of  earthly  mind, 
ruled  by  idolatries  of  time  and  sense.  /  He  has  under- 
taken duties  to  her  which  a  quickenecf  sense  of  Divine 
law  will  make  him  feel  the  more  ;  she  has  her  claim 
upon  his  life,  and  there  is  nothing  to  wonder  at  if 
she  insists  upon  her  view,  to  his  spiritual  disadvantage 
and  peril.  In  the  time  of  national  quickening  and 
renewed  thoughtfulness  many  a  Hebrew  discovered 
the  folly  of  which  he  had  been  guilty  in  joining  hands 
with  women  who  were  on  the  side  of  the  Baahm  and 
resented  any  sacrifice  made  for  Jehovah.  Here  we 
find  the  explanation  of  much  lukewarmness,  indifference 
to  the  great  enterprises  of  the  church  and  withholding 
of  service  by  those  who  make  some  profession  of  being 
on  the  Lord's  side.  The  entanglements  of  domestic 
relationship  have  far  more  to  do  with  failure  in  religious 
duty  than  is  commonly  supposed. 

Amid  difficulty  and  discouragement  enough,  with 
slender  resources,  the  hope  of  Israel  resting  upon  her, 
Deborah's  heart  did  not  fail  nor  her  head  for  affairs. 
When  the  critical  point  was  reached  of  requiring  a 
general  for  the  war  she  had  already  fixed  upon  the 
man.  At  Kadesh-Naphtali,  almost  in  sight  of  Jabin's 
fortress,  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  waters  of  Merom, 
ninety  miles  to  the  north,  dwelt  Barak  the  son  of 
Abinoam.  The  neighbourhood  of  the  Canaanite  capital 
and  daily  evidence  of  its  growing  power  made  Barak 
ready  for  any  enterprise  which  had  in  it  good  promise 


iv.]  THE  SIBYL   OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM.  99 

of  success,  and  he  had  better  qualifications  than  mere 
resentment  against  injustice  and  eager  hatred  of  tie 
Canaanite  oppression.  Already  known  in  Zebulun  and 
Naphtali  as  a  man  of  bold  temper  and  sagacity,  he  was 
in  a  position  to  gather  an  army  corps  out  of  those 
tribes — the  main  strength  of  the  force  on  which  Deborah 
relied  for  the  approaching  struggle.  Better  still,  he 
was  a  fearer  of  God.  To  Kadesh-Naphtali  the  pro- 
phetess sent  for  the  chosen  leader  of  the  troops  of  Israel, 
addressing  to  him  the  call  of  Jehovah  :  *^  Hath  not  the 
Lord  commanded  thee  saying,  Go  and  draw  towards 
Mount  Tabor  "—that  is,  Bring  by  detachments  quietly 
from  the  different  cities  towards  Mount  Tabor — "ten 
thousand  men  of  Naphtali  and  Zebulun  ? "  The 
rendezvous  of  Sisera's  host  was  Harosheth  of  the 
Gentiles,  in  the  defile  at  the  western  extremity  of  the 
valley  of  Megiddo,  where  Kishon  breaks  through  to  the 
plain  of  Acre.  Tabor  overlooked  from  the  north-east 
the  same  wide  strath  which  was  to  be  the  field  where 
the  chariots  and  the  multitude  should  be  delivered  into 
Barak's  hand. 

Not  doubting  the  word  of  God,  Barak  sees  a  difficulty. 
For  himself  he  has  no  prophetic  gift ;  he  is  ready  to 
fight,  but  this  is  to  be  a  sacred  war.  From  the  very  first 
he  would  have  the  men  gather  with  the  clear  under- 
standing that  it  is  for  religion  as  much  as  for  freedom 
they  are  taking  arms ;  and  how  may  this  be  secured  ? 
Only  if  Deborah  will  go  with  him  through  the  country 
proclaiming  the  Divine  summons  and  promise  of  victory. 
He  is  very  decided  on  the  point.  *'  If  thou  'wilt  go 
with  me,  then  I  will  go :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  go  with 
me,  I  will  not  go."  Deborah  agrees,  though  she  would 
fain  have  left  this  matter  entirely  to  men.  She  warns 
him  that  the  expedition  will  not  be  to  his  honour,  since 


lOO  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

Jehovah  will  give  Sisera  into  the  hand  of  a  woman. 
Against  her  will  she  takes  part  in  the  military  prepara- 
tions. There  is  no  need  to  find  in  Deborah's  words  a 
prophecy  of  the  deed  of  Jael.  It  is  a  grossly  untrue 
taunt  that  the  murder  of  Sisera  is  the  central  point  of 
the  whole  narrative.  When  Deborah  says,  ^^  The  Lord 
shall  sell  Sisera  into  the  hand  of  a  woman,"  the  reference 
plainly  is,  as  Josephus  makes  it,  to  the  position  into 
which  Deborah  herself  was  forced  as  the  chief  person 
in  the  campaign.  With  great  wisdom  and  the  truest 
courage  she  would  have  limited  her  own  sphere.  With 
equal  wisdom  and  equal  courage  Barak  understood  how 
the  zeal  of  the  people  was  to  be  maintained.  There 
was  a  friendly  contest,  and  in  the  end  the  right  wa}^ 
was  found,  for  unquestionably  Deborah  was  the  genius 
of  the  movement.  Together  they  went  to  Kedesh, — 
not  Kadesh-Naphtali  in  the  far  north,  but  Kedesh  on 
the  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  some  twelve  miles  from 
Tabor.-^  From  that  as  a  centre,  journeying  by  secluded 
ways  through  the  northern  districts,  often  perhaps  by 
night,  Deborah  and  Barak  went  together  rousing  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people,  until  the  shores  of  the  lake 
and  the  valleys  running  down  to  it  were  quietly  occu- 
pied by  thousands  of  armed  men. 

The  clans  are  at  length  gathered  ;  the  whole  force 
marches  from  Kedesh  to  the  foot  of  Tabor  to  give 
battle.  •  And  now  Sisera,  fully  equipped,  moves  out  of 
Harosheth  along  the  course  of  the  Kishon,  marching 
well  beneath  the  ridge  of  Carmel,  his  chariots  thunder- 
ing in  the  van.  Near  Taanach  he  orders  his  front  to  be 
formed  to  the  north,  crosses  the  Kishon  and  advances 
on   the  Hebrews  who  by  this  time  are  visible  beyond 

'  See  Conder's  Tent  Work  in  Palestine. 


iv.]  THE  SIBYL    OF  MOUNT  E  FUR  AIM.  loi 

the  slope  of  Moreh.  The  tremendous  moment  has 
come.  '^  Up,"  cries  Deborah,  "  for  this  is  the  day  in 
which  the  Lord  hath  deHvered  Sisera  into  thine  hand. 
Is  not  the  Lord  gone  out  before  thee  ? "  She  has 
waited  till  the  troops  of  Sisera  are  entangled  among 
the  streams  which  here,  from  various  directions,  con- 
verge to  the  river  Kishon,  now  swollen  with  rain  and 
difficult  to  cross.  Barak,  the  Lightning  Chief,  leads  his 
men  impetuously  down  into  the  plain,  keeping  near  the 
shoulder  of  Moreh  where  the  ground  is  not  broken  by 
the  streams  ;  and  with  the  fall  of  evening  he  begins  the 
attack.  The  chariots  have  crossed  the  Kishon  but  are 
still  struggling  in  the  swamps  and  marshes.  They  are 
assailed  with  vehemence  and  forced  back,  and  in  the 
waning  light  all  is  confusion.  The  Kishon  sweeps 
away  many  of  the  Canaanite  host,  the  rest  make  a 
stand  by  Taanach  and  further  on  by  the  waters  of 
Megiddo.  The  Hebrews  find  a  higher  ford  and  following 
the  south  bank  of  the  river  are  upon  the  foe  again.  It 
is  a  November  night  and  meteors  are  flashing  through 
the  sky.  They  are  an  omen  of  evil  to  the  disheartened 
half-defeated  army.  Do  not  the  stars  in  their  courses 
fight  against  Sisera  ?  The  rout  becomes  complete  ; 
Barak  pursues  the  scattered  force  towards  Harosheth, 
and  at  the  ford  near  the  city  there  is  terrible  loss. 
Only  the .  fragments  of  a  ruined  army  find  shelter 
within  the  gates. 

Meanwhile  Sisera,  a  coward  at  heart,  more  familiar 
with  the  parade  ground  than  fit  for  the  stern  necessities 
of  war,  leaves  his  chariot  and  abandons  his  men  to  their 
fate,  his  own  safety  all  his  care.  Seeking  that,  it  is 
not  to  Harosheth  he  turns.  He  takes  his  way  across 
Gilboa  toward  the  very  region  which  Barak  has  left. 
On  a  little  plateau  overlooking  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  near 


102  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

Kedesh,  there  is  a  settlement  of  Kenites  whom  Sisera 
thinks  he  can  trust.  Like  a  hunted  animal  he  presses 
on  over  ridge  and  through  defile  till  he  reaches  the 
black  tents  and  receives  from  Jael  the  treacherous 
welcome,  ''  Turn  in,  my  lord,  turn  in  to  me ;  fear  not." 
The  pitiful  tragedy  follows.  The  coward  meets  at  the 
hand  of  a  woman  the  death  from  which  he  has  fled. 
Jael  gives  him  fermented  milk  to  drink  which,  exhausted 
as  he  is,  sends  him  into  a  deep  sleep.  Then,  as  he  lies 
helpless,  she  smites  the  tent-pin  through  his  temples. 

In  her  song  Deborah  describes  and  glories  over  the 
execution  of  her  country's  enemy.  "  Blessed  among 
women  shall  Jael,  the  wife  of  Heber  be;  with  the 
hammer  she  smote  Sisera  ;  at  her  feet  he  curled  up, 
he  fell."  Exulting  in  every  circumstance  of  the 
tragedy,  she  adds  a  description  of  Sisera's  mother 
and  her  ladies  expecting  his  return  as  a  victor  laden 
with  spoil,  and  Hstening  eagerly  for  the  wheels  of  that 
chariot  which  never  again  should  roll  through  the 
streets  of  Harosheth.  As  to  the  whole  of  this  passage, 
our  estimate  of  Deborah's  knowledge  and  spiritual 
insight  does  not  require  us  to  regard  her  praise  and  her 
judgment  as  absolute.  She  rejoices  in  a  deed  which 
has  crowned  the  great  victory  over  the  master  pf  nine 
hundred  chariots,  the  terror  of  Israel;  she  glories  in 
the  courage  of  another  woman,  who  single-handed 
finished  that  tyrant's  career ;  she  does  not  make  God 
responsible  for  the  deed.  Let  the  outburst  of  her 
enthusiastic  relief  stand  as  the  expression  of  intense 
feeling,  the  rebound  from  fear  and  anxiety  of  the 
patriotic  heart.  We  need  not  weight  ourselves  with 
the  suspicion  that  the  prophetess  reckoned  Jael's  deed 
the  outcome  of  a  Divine  thought.  No :  but  we  may 
believe  this  of  Jael,  that  she  is  on  the  side  of  Israel,  her 


IV.]  THE  SIBYL   OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM.  103 

sympathy  so  far  repressed  by  the  league  of  her  people 
with  Jabin,  yet  prompting  her  to  use  every  opportunity 
of  serving  the  Hebrew  cause.  It  is  clear  that  if  the 
Kenite  treaty  had  meant  very  much  and  Jael  had  felt 
herself  bound  by  it,  her  tent  would  have  been  an 
asylum  for  the  fugitive.  But  she  is  against  the  enemies 
of  Israel ;  her  heart  is  with  the  people  of  Jehovah  in 
the  battle  and  she  is  watching  eagerly  for  signs  of  the 
victory  she  desires  them  to  win.  Unexpected,  startling, 
the  sign  appears  in  the  fleeing  captain  of  Jabin's  host, 
alone,  looking  wildly  for  shelter.  ^'  Turn  in,  my  lord  ; 
turn  in."  Will  he  enter  ?  Will  he  hide  himself  in  a 
woman's  tent  ?  Then  to  her  will  be  committed  ven- 
geance. It  will  be  an  omen  that  the  hour  of  Sisera's 
fate  has  come.  Hospitality  itself  must  yield  ;  she  will 
break  even  that  sacred  law  to  do  stern  justice  on  a 
coward,  a  tyrant,  and  an  enemy  of  God. 

A  line  of  thought  like  this  is  entirely  in  harmony 
with  the  Arab  character.  The  moral  ideas  of  the 
desert  are  rigorous,  and  contempt  rapidly  becomes 
cruel.  A  tent  woman  has  few  elements  of  judgment, 
and,  the  balance  turning,  her  conclusion  will  be  quick, 
remorseless.  Jael  is  no  blameless  heroine ;  neither  is 
she  a  demon.  Deborah,  who  understands  her,  reads 
clearly  the  rapid  thoughts,  the  swift  decision,  the 
unscrupulous  act  and  sees,  behind  all,  the  purpose  of 
serving  Israel.  Her  praise  of  Jael  is  therefore  with 
knowledge  ;  but  she  herself  would  not  have  done  the 
thing  she  praises.  All  possible  explanations  made,  it 
remains  a  murder,  a  wild  savage  thing  for  a  woman" 
to  do,  and  we  may  ask  whether  among  the  tents  of 
Zaanannim  Jael  was  not  looked  on  from  that  day  as 
a  woman  stained  and  shadowed, — one  who  had  been 
treacherous  to  a  guest. 


I04  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Not  here  can  the  moral  be  found  that  the  end  justifies 
the  means,  or  that  we  may  do  evil  with  good  intent ; 
which  never  was  a  Bible  doctrine  and  never  can  be. 
On  the  contrary,  we  find  it'  written  clear  that  the  end 
does  not  justify  the  means.  Sisera  must  live  on  and 
do  the  worst  he  may  rather  than  any  soul  should  be 
soiled  with  treachery  or  any  hand  defiled  by  murder. 
There  are  human  vermin,  human  scorpions  and  vipers. 
Is  Christian  society  to  regard  them,  to  care  for  them  ? 
The  answer  is  that  Providence  regards  them  and 
cares  for  them.  They  are  human  after  all,  men  whom 
God  has  made,  for  whom  there  are  yet  hopes,  who  are 
no  worse  than  others  would  be  if  Divine  grace  did 
not  guard  and  deliver.  Rightly  does  Christian  society 
affirm  that  a  human  being  in  peril,  in  suffering,  in  any 
extremity  common  to  men  is  to  be  succoured  as  a  man, 
without  inquiry  whether  he  is  good  or  vile.  What 
then  of  justice  and  man's  administration  of  justice  ? 
This,  that  they  demand  a  sacred  calm,  elevation  above 
the  levels  of  personal  feeling,  mortal  passion  and  ignor- 
ance. Law  is  to  be  of  no  private,  sudden,  unconsidered 
administration.  Only  in  the  most  solemn  and  orderly 
way  is  the  trial  of  the  worst  malefactor  to  be  gone 
about,  sentence  passed,  justice  executed.  To  have 
reached  this  understanding  of  law  with  regard  to  all 
accused  and  suspected  persons  and  all  evildoers  is  one 
of  the  great  gains  of  the  Christian  period.  We  need 
not  look  for  anything  like  the  ideal  of  justice  in  the 
age  of  the  judges  ;  deeds  were  done  then  and  zealously 
and  honestly  praised  which  we  must  condemn.  They 
were  meant  to  bring  about  good,  but  the  sum  of  human 
violence  was  increased  by  them  and  more  work  made 
for  the  moral  reformer  of  after  times.  And  going  back 
to  Jael's  deed  we  see  that  it  gave  Israel  little  more  than 


iv.]  THE  SIBYL   OF  MOUNT  EPHRAIM.  105 

/  vengeance.  In  point  of  fact  the  crushing  defeat  of  the 
army  left  Sisera  powerless,  discredited,  open  to  the 
displeasure  of  his  master.     He  could  have  done  Israel 

■    no  more  harm. 

One  point  remains.     Emphatically  are  we  reminded 

/  that  life  continually  brings  us  to  sudden  moments  in 

/  which  we  must  act  without  time  for  careful  reflection, 
the  spirit  of  our  past  flashing  out  in  some  quick  deed 
or  word  of  fate.  Sisera's  past  drove  him  in  panic  over 
the  hills  to  Zaanannim.  Jael's  past  came  with  her  to 
the  door  of  the  tent ;  and  the  two  as  they  looked  at 
each  other  in  that  tragic  moment  were  at  once,  without 
warning,  in  a  crisis  for  which  every  thought  and  passion 
of  years  had  made  a  way.  Here  the  self-pampering 
of  a  vain  man  had  its  issue.  Here  the  woman,  un- 
disciplined, impetuous,  catching  sight  of  the  means  to 
do  a  deed,  moves  to  the  fatal  stroke  like  one  possessed. 
It  is  the  sort  of  thing  we  often  call  madness,  and  yet 
such  insanity  is  but  the  expression  of  what  men  and 
women  choose  to  be  capable  of.  The  casual  allowance 
of  an  impulse  here,  a  craving  there,  seems  to  mean  little 
until  the  occasion  comes  when  their  accumulated  force 
is  sharply  or  terribly  revealed.  The  laxity  of  the  past 
thus  declares  itself;  and  on  the  other  hand  there  is 
often  a  gathering  of  good  to  a  moment  of  revelation. 
The  soul  that  has  for  long  years  fortified  itself  in  pious 
courage,  in  patient  well-doing,  in  high  and  noble 
thought,  leaps  one  day,  to  its  own  surprise,  to  the 
height  of  generous  daring  or  heroic  truth.  We  deter- 
mine the  issue  of  crises  which  we  cannot  foresee. 


VIII. 

DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  DIVINE    VISION. 
Judges  v. 

THE  song  of  Deborah  and  Barak  is  twofold,  the 
first  portion,  ending  with  the  eleventh  verse,  a 
chant  of  rising  hope  and  pious  encouragement  during 
the  time  of  preparation  and  revival,  the  other  a  song  of 
battle  and  victory  throbbing  with  eager  patriotism  and 
the  hot  breath  of  martial  excitement.  In  the  former 
part  God  is  celebrated  as  the  Helper  of  Israel  from  of 
old  and  from  afar;  He  is  the  spring  of  the  movement 
in  which  the  singer  rejoices,  and  in  His  praise  the 
strophes  culminate.  But  human  nature  asserts  itself 
after  the  great  and  decisive  triumph  in  the  vivid 
touches  of  the  latter  canto.  In  it  more  is  told  of  the 
doings  of  men,  and  there  is  picturesque  fiery  exultation 
over  the  fallen.  One  might  almost  think  that  Deborah, 
herself  childless,  glories  over  the  mother  of  Sisera  in 
the  utter  desolation  which  falls  on  her  when  she  hears 
the  tidings  of  her  son's  defeat  and  death.  Yet  this 
mood  ceases  abruptly,  and  the  song  returns  to  Jehovah, 
Whose  friends  are  lifted  up  to  joy  and  strength  by  His 
availing  help. 

The  main  interest  of  the  twofold  song  lies  in  its 
religious  colour,  for  here  the  pious  ardour  of  the  Israel 
of  the  judges  comes  to  finest  expression.     As  a  whole 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:   A  DIVINE    VISION.  107 

it  is  more  patriotic  than  moral,  more  warlike  than 
religious,  and  thus  unquestionably  reflects  the  temper 
of  the  time.  What  ideas  do  we  find  in  it  of  the  relation 
of  Israel  to  God  and  of  God  to  Israel,  what  conceptions 
of  the  Divine  character  ?  Jehovah  is  invoked  and 
praised  as  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  alone.  He  seems 
to  have  no  interest  in  the  Canaanites,  nor  compassion 
towards  them.  Yet  the  grandeur  of  the  Divine  forth- 
going  is  declared  in  bold  and  striking  imagery,  and  the 
high  resolves  of  men  are  clearly  traced  to  the  Spirit 
of  the  Almighty.  Duty  to  God  is  linked  with  duty  to 
country,  and  it  is  at  least  suggested  that  Israel  without 
Jehovah  is  nothing  and  has  no  right  to  a  place  among 
the  peoples.  The  nation  exists  for  the  glory  of  its 
Heavenly  King,  to  make  known  His  power  and  His 
righteous  acts.  A  strain  like  this  in  a  war-song  belong- 
ing to  the  time  of  Israel's  semi-barbarism  bears  no 
uncertain  promise.  From  the  well-spring  out  of  which 
it  flows  clear  and  sparkling  there  will  come  other  songs, 
with  tenderer  music  and  holier  longing, — songs  of 
spiritual  hope  and  generous  desire  for  Messianic 
peace. 

I.  The  first  religious  note  is  struck  in  what  may  be 
called  the  opening  Hallelujah,  although  the  ejaculation, 
'^  Bless  the  Lord,"  is  not,  in  Hebrew,  that  which  after- 
wards became  the  great  refrain  of  sacred  song. 

"  For  that  leaders  led  in  Israel, 
For  that  the  people  offered  themselves  willingly : 
Bless  ye  Jehovah." 

Here  is  more  than  belief  in  Providence.  It  is  faith 
in  the  spiritual  presence  and  power  of  God  swaying 
the  souls  of  men.    Has  Deborah  seen  at  last,  after  long 


io8  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

efforts  to  rouse  the  careless  people,  one  and  another 
responding  to  her  appeals  and  seeking  her  tent  among 
the  hills  ?  Has  she  witnessed  the  vows  of  the  chiefs 
of  Issachar  and  Zebulun  that  they  would  not  be 
wanting  in  the  day  of  battle  ?  Not  to  herself  but  to  the 
God  of  Israel  is  the  new  temper  ascribed.  Jehovah, 
Who  touched  her  own  heart,  has  now  touched  many 
another.  For  years  she  had  been  aware  of  hoHer 
influences  than  came  to  her  from  the  people  among 
whom  she  lived.  In  secret,  in  the  silence  of  the  heart, 
she  had  found  herself  mastered  by  thoughts  that  none 
around  her  shared.  She  has  well  accounted  for  them. 
Jehovah  has  spoken  to  her,  Jehovah  caring  still  for  His 
people,  waiting  to  redeem  them  from  bondage.  And 
now,  when  her  prophetic  cry  finds  echo  in  other  souls, 
when  men  who  were  asleep  rise  up  and  declare  their 
purpose,  especially  when  from  this  side  and  that  com- 
panies of  brave  youths  and  resolute  elders  come  to 
her — from  the  slopes  of  Carmel,  from  the  hills  of  Gilead 
— the  fire  of  hope  in  their  eyes,  how  otherwise  explain 
the  upspringing  of  energy  and  devotion  than  as  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  that  has  moved  her  own  soul  ?  To 
Jehovah  is  all  the  praise. 

Common  enough  in  our  day  is  a  profession  of  belief 
in  God  as  the  source  of  every  good  desire  and  right 
effort,  as  inspiring  the  charity  of  the  generous,  the 
affection  of  the  loving,  the  fidelity  of  the  true.  But  it 
our  faith  is  deep  and  real  it  brings  us  much  nearer 
than  we  usually  feel  ourselves  to  be  to  Him  Who  is 
the  Life  indeed.  The  existence  and  energy  of  God  are 
cLSSured  to  those  who  have  this  insight.  Every  kind- 
ness done  by  man  to  man  is  a  testimony  against 
vvhich  denial  of  the  Divine  life  has  no  power.  Though 
ti.e   intellect  searching  far   afield   makes  out  only  as 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:   A   DIVINE    VISION.  109 

it  were  some  few  dim  and  indistinct  footprints  of  a 
Mighty  Being  Who  has  passed  by,  seen  at  intervals  on 
the  plains  of  history,  then  lost  in  the  morasses  or  on 
the  rocky  ground,  there  ought  to  be  found  in  every 
human  life  daily  evidence  of  Divine  grace  and  wisdom. 
The  good,  the  true,  the  noble  constantly  appeal  to  men, 
find  men  ;  and  through  these  God  finds  them.  When 
a  magnanimous  word  is  spoken,  God  is  heard.  When 
a  deed  is  done  in  love,  in  purity,  in  courage  or  pity, 
God  is  seen.  When  out  of  languor  and  corruption  and 
self-indulgence  men  arise  and  set  their  faces  to  the 
steep  of  dut}^,  God  is  revealed.  He  in  Whom  we  trust 
for  the  redemption  of  the  world  never  leaves  Himself 
without  a  witness,  whether  faith  perceives  or  unbelief 
denies.  The  human  story  unfolds  a  Divine  urgency 
by  which  the  progress,  the  evolution  of  all  that  is  good 
proceed  from  age  to  age.  Man  has  never  been  left  to 
nature  alone  nor  to  himself  alone.  The  supernatural 
has  always  mingled  with  his  life.  He  has  resisted 
often,  he  has  rebelled ;  yet  conscience  has  not  ceased, 
God  has  not  withdrawn.  This  living  energy  of  Jehovah, 
not  only  as  belonging  to  the  past  but  discovered  in  the 
new  zeal  of  Israel,  Deborah  saw,  and  in  virtue  of  the 
revelation  she  was  far  before  her  time.  For  the  fresh 
life  of  the  people,  for  the  willing  self-devotion  of  so 
many  to  the  great  cause,  she  lifted  her  voice  in  praise 
to  Israel's  Eternal  Friend. 

2.  The  next  passage  may  be  called  a  prologue  in 
the  heavens.  Partly  historical,  it  is  chiefly  a  vision  of 
Jehovah's  age-long  work  for  His  people.  In  words 
that  flash  and  roll  the  song  describes  the  glorious 
rdvent  of  the  Most  High,  nature  astir  with  His  pre- 
sence, the  mountains  shaking  under  His  tread. 

The    seat    cf  the    Divine    Majesty   appears   to   the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


prophetess  to  be  in  Seir.  She  looks  across  the  hills 
of  the  south  and  passes  beyond  the  desert  to  that 
place  of  mystery  where  God  spoke  in  thunder  and 
proclaimed  Himself  in  the  Law.  The  imagery  points 
to  the  phenomena  of  earthquake  and  a  fearful  lightning 
storm  accompanied  with  heavy  rain.  These,  the  most 
striking  natural  symbols  of  the  supernatural,  form  the 
materials  of  the  strophe.  Perhaps  even  as  the  song  is 
chanted  the  thunders  of  Sinai  are  echoed  in  a  great 
storm  that  shakes  the  sky  and  rolls  among  the  hills. 
The  outward  signs  represent  the  new  impressions  of 
Divine  power  and  authority  which  are  startling  and 
rousing  the  tribes.  They  have  heard  no  voices,  seen 
no  tokens  of  God  for  many  a  year.  He  Who  led  their 
fathers  out  of  bondage.  He  Who  marched  with  them 
through  the  desert,  has  been  forgotten  ;  but  He  returns. 
He  is  with  them  again.  The  office  of  the  prophetess 
is  to  celebrate  God's  presence  and  excite  in  the  dull 
souls  of  men  some  feeling  of  His  majesty.  Sinai  once 
trembled  and  was  dismayed  before  God.  The  great 
peak  beside  which  Tabor  is  but  a  mound  flowed  down 
in  volcanic  glow  and  rush.  It  is  He  Whose  coming 
Deborah  hears  in  the  beating  storm.  He  Whose  vic- 
torious feet  shake  the  hills  of  Ephraim.  Have  the  people 
forsaken  their  King  ?  Let  them  seek  Him,  trust  Him 
now.  Under  the  shadow  of  His  wings  there  is  refuge ; 
before  His  arrows  and  the  fierce  floods  He  pours  from 
heaven  who  can  stand  ? 

It  has  been  well  said  that  for  the  Israel  of  ancient 
times  all  natural  phenomena — a  storm,  a  hurricane  or  a 
flood — had  more  than  ordinary.import.  *'  Forbidden  to 
recognise  and,  as  it  were,  grasp  the  God  of  heaven  in 
any  material  form,  or  to  adore  even  in  the  heavens 
themselves  any  constant  symbols  of  His  being  and  His 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:   A   DIVINE    VISION.  in 

power,  yet  yearning  more  in  spirit  for  manifestations  of 
His  invisible  existence,  Israel's  mind  was  ever  on  the 
stretch  for  any  hint  in  nature  of  the  unseen  Celestial 
Being,  for  any  glimpse  of  His  mysterious  ways,  and 
its  courage  rose  to  a  far  higher  pitch  when  Divine 
encouragement  and  impulse  seemed  to  come  from  the 
material  world." ^  From  the  images  of  Baal  and  the 
Ashtaroth  Israel  had  turned ;  but  where  was  their 
Heavenly  King  ?  The  answer  came  with  marvellous 
power  when  Deborah  in  the  midst  of  the  rolling 
thunder  could  say,  "  Lord,  when  Thou  wentest  forth  out 
of  Seir,  when  Thou  marchedst  out  of  the  field  of  Edom, 
the  earth  trembled,  the  heavens  also  dropped.  The 
mountains  flowed  down  at  the  presence  of  Jehovah." 
If  the  people  bethought  themselves  of  the  clear  demon- 
stration of  Divine  majesty  made  to  their  fathers,  they 
would  realize  God  once  more  as  the  Ruler  in  heaven 
and  earth.  Then  would  courage  revive,  and  in  the 
faith  of  the  Almighty  they  would  go  forth  to  victory. 

Now  was  there  in  this  faith  an  element  of  reason, 
a  correspondence  with  fact  ?  Is  it  fancy  and  nothing 
else,  the  poetic  flight  of  an  ardent  soul  eager  to  rouse 
a  nation  ?  Have  we  here  an  arbitrary  connection 
made  between  striking  natural  events  and  a  Divine 
Person  throned  in  the  heavens  Whose  existence  the 
prophetess  assumes.  Whose  supposed  claim  to  obedience 
haunts  her  mind  ?  In  such  a  question  our  age  utters 
its  scepticism. 

An  age  it  is  of  science,  of  positive  science.  Toiling 
for  centuries  at  the  task  of  understanding  the  phe- 
nomenal, research  has  at  length  assumed  the  right  to 
tell  us  what  we  must  believe  concerning  the  world — 

Ewald, 


112  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

what  we  are  to  believe^  observe,  for  it  is  a  new  creed 
and  nothing  else  that  confronts  us  here.  "The  govern- 
ment of  the  world,"  says  one,  "must  not  be  considered 
as  determined  by  an  extramundane  intelligence,  but  by 
one  immanent  in  the  cosmical  forces  and  their  rela- 
tions." Another  says:  "The  world  or  matter  with  its 
properties  which  we  term  forces  must  have  existed 
from  eternity  and  must  last  for  ever — in  one  word,  the 
world  cannot  have  been  created.  .  .  .  The  ever-chang- 
ing action  of  the  natural  forces  is  the  fundamental  cause 
of  all  that  arises  and  perishes."  Or  again,  not  most 
recent  in  time  but  entirely  modern  in  temper,  we  have 
the  following  :  "  Science  has  gradually  taken  all  the 
positions  of  the  childish  belief  of  the  peoples ;  it  has 
snatched  thunder  and  lightning  from  the  hands  of  the 
gods.  The  stupendous  powers  of  the  Titans  of  the  olden 
time  have  been  grasped  by  the  fingers  of  man.  That 
which  appeared  inexplicable,  miraculous  and  the  work 
of  a  supernatural  power  has  by  the  touch  of  science 
proved  to  be  the  effect  of  hitherto  unknown  natural 
forces.  Everything  that  happens  does  so  in  a  natural 
way,  i.e,,  in  a  mode  determined  only  by  accidental  or 
necessary  coalition  of  existing  materials  and  their 
immanent  natural  forces."  Here  is  dogma  forced  on 
faith  with  fine  energy ;  and  what  more  is  to  be  said 
when  judgment  is  given — "I  have  searched  the  heavens, 
but  have  nowhere  found  the  traces  of  a  God  "  ? 

We  hear  the  boast  that  no  song  of  Hebrew  seer  can 
withstand  this  modern  wisdom,  that  the  superstition 
of  Bible  faith  shall  vanish  like  starlight  before  the 
rising  sun.  To  science  every  opinion  shall  submit. 
But  wait.  It  is  dogmatism  against  belief  after  all, 
authority  against  authority,  and  the  one  in  a  lower 
region  than  the  other,  with  vastly  inferior  sanctions.. 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A   DIVINE    VISION. 


Natural  science  declares  the  present  result  of  its  obser- 
vation of  the  universe,  investigation  brief,  superficial, 
and  limited  to  one  small  corner  of  the  whole.  Yet 
these  deliverances  are  to  be  set  above  the  science 
which  deals  with  existence  on  the  highest  plane,  the 
spiritual,  solving  deepest  problems  of  life  and  con- 
science, finding  perpetual  support  in  the  experience  of 
men.  The  claim  is  somewhat  large  ;  it  lacks  the  proof 
of  service ;  it  lacks  verification.  Science  boasts  greatly, 
as  is  natural  to  its  adolescence.  But  at  what  point  can 
it  dare  to  say.  Here  is  final  truth,  here  is  certainty  ? 
We  do  not  repel  our  debt  to  the  discoverer  when  we 
maintain  that  natural  science  is  only  watching  the 
surface  of  a  stream  for  a  few  miles  along  its  course, 
while  the  springs  far  away  among  the  eternal  hills 
and  the  outflow  into  the  infinite  ocean  are  never  viewed. 
Are  we  taunted  with  believing  ?  Those  who  taunt  us 
must  supply  for  their  part  something  more  than  in- 
ference ere  we  trust  all  to  their  wisdom.  The  "  Force  " 
that  is  so  much  invoked,  what  is  it  so  far  as  the  defi- 
nitions of  science  go  ?  Effects  we  see  ;  Force  never. 
All  statements  as  to  the  nature  of  force  are  pure  dogma. 
It  is  declared  that  there  are  necessary  and  eternal  laws 
of  matter.  What  makes  them  necessary,  and  who 
can  prove  their  everlastingness  ?  Using  such  words 
men  pass  infinitely  beyond  material  research — they 
infer — they  assert.  In  the  region  of  natural  science 
we  can  affirm  nothing  to  be  eternal,  and  even  necessity 
is  a  word  that  has  no  warrant.  It  is  only  in  the  soul, 
in  the  region  of  moral  ideas,  we  come  on  that  which 
endures,  which  is  necessary,  which  has  constant  reality. 
And  it  is  here  that  our  belief  in  God  as  universal  Creator, 
the  Source  of  power  and  life,  the  One  Agent,  the  King 
eternal,  immortal  and  invisible,  finds  root  and  strength. 

8 


114  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

The  battle  between  materialism  and  religious  faith 
is  not  a  battle  in  which  facts  are  arrayed  on  one  side 
and  inferences  and  dreams  on  the  other.  The  array  is 
of  facts  against  facts,  as  we  have  said,  and  with  an 
immense  difference  of  value.  Is  it  an  established 
sequence  that  when  the  electricity  in  the  clouds  is  not 
in  equipoise  with  that  of  the  earth,  under  certain  condi- 
tions there  is  a  thunderstorm  ?  It  is  surely  a  sequence 
of  higher  moment  that  when  the  sense  of  righteousness 
seizes  the  minds  of  men  they  rise  against  iniquity  and 
there  is  a  revolution.  There  natural  forces  operate, 
here  spiritual.  But  on  which  side  is  the  indication  of 
eternity  ?  Which  of  these  sequences  can  better  claim 
to  give  a  key  to  the  order  of  the  universe  ?  Surely  if 
the  evolution  of  the  ages,  so  far,  has  culminated  in  man 
with  his  capability  of  knowing  and  serving  the  true, 
the  just,  the  good,  these  facts  of  his  mind  and  life  are 
the  highest  of  which  we  can  take  cognizance,  and  in 
them,  if  anywhere,  we  must  find  the  key  to  all  know- 
ledge, the  reason  of  all  phenomena.  Evolutionary 
science  itself  must  agree  to  this.  In  the  movements  of 
nature  we  find  no  advance  to  fixity  and  finality.  Nature 
labours,  men  labour  with  or  against  nature  ;  but  the  flux 
of  things  is  perpetual ;  there  is  no  escape  from  change. 
In  the  efi'orts  of  the  spiritual  life  it  is  not  so.  When 
we  strive  for  equalness,  for  verity,  for  purity,  we  have 
glimpses  then  of  the  changeless  order  which  we  must 
needs  call  Divine.  Here  is  the  indication  of  eternity ; 
and  as  we  investigate,  as  we  experience,  we  come  to 
certitude,  we  reach  larger  vision,  larger  faith.  That 
which  endures  rises  clear  above  that  which  appears 
and  passes. 

Returning  to  Deborah's  song  and  her  vision  of  the 
coming   of  God  in  the   impetuous   storm,  we  see  the 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:    A   DIVINE    VISION.  115 

practical  value  of  Theism.  One  great  idea,  comprehen- 
sive and  majestic,  leads  thought  beyond  symbol  and 
change  to  the  All-righteous  Lord.  To  attribute  phe- 
mena  to  ^'  Nature"  is  a  sterile  mode  of  thought ;  nothing 
is  done  for  life.  To  attribute  phenomena  to  a  variety 
of  superhuman  persons  limits  and  weakens  the  religious 
idea  sought  after ;  still  one  is  lost  in  the  changeable. 
Theism  delivers  the  soul  from  both  evils  and  sets  it 
on  a  free  upward  path,  stern  yet  alluring.  By  this 
path  the  Hebrew  prophet  rose  to  the  high  and  fruitful 
conceptions  which  draw  men  together  in  responsibiUty 
and  worship.  The  eternal  governs  all,  rules  every 
change ;  and  that  eternal  is  the  holy  will  of  God.  The 
omnipotence  nature  obeys  is  the  omnipotence  of  right. 
Israel  returning  to  God  will  find  Him  coming  to  the  help 
of  His  people  in  the  awful  or  kindly  movements  of  the 
natural  world.  Our  view  in  one  sense  extends  beyond 
that  of  the  Hebrew  seer.  We  find  the  purpose  dis- 
closed in  natural  phenomena  to  be  somewhat  differ- 
ent. Not  the  protection  of  a  favoured  race,  but  the 
discipline  of  humanity  is  what  we  perceive.  Ours  is 
an  expansion  of  the  Hebrew  faith,  revealing  the  same 
Divine  goodness  engaged  in  a  redeeming  work  of  wider 
scope  and  longer  duration. 

The  point  is  still  in  doubt  among  us  whether  the 
good,  the  true,  the  right,  are  invincible.  Those  who 
go  forth  in  the  service  of  God  are  often  borne  down  by 
the  graceless  multitude.  From  age  to  age  the  problem 
of  God's  supremacy  seems  to  remain  in  suspense,  and 
men  are  not  afraid,  in  the  name  of  foulest  iniquity,  to 
try  issues  with  the  best.  Be  it  so.  The  Divine  work  is 
slow.  Even  the  best  need  discipline  that  they  may  have 
strength,  and  God  is  in  no  haste  to  carry  His  argument 
against  atheism.     There  is  abundance  of  time.     Those 


ii6  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

bent  on  evil  or  misled  by  falsehood,  those  who  are 
on  the  wrong  side  though  they  consider  themselves 
soldiers  of  a  good  cause  may  gain  on  many  a  field,  yet 
their  gain  will  turn  out  in  the  long  run  to  be  loss,  and 
they  who  lose  and  fall  are  really  the  victors.  There 
is  defeat  that  is  better  than  success.  Other  ages  than 
belong  to  this  world's  history  are  yet  to  dawn,  and  the 
discovery  will  come  to  every  intelligence  that  he  alone 
triumphs  whose  life  is  spent  for  righteousness  and 
love,  in  fidelity  to  God  and  man. 

3.  Let  it  be  allowed  that  we  find  the  latter  canto  of 
Deborah's  song  expressive  of  faith  rather  than  of  clear 
morality,  pointing  to  a  spiritual  future  rather  than 
exhibiting  actual  knowledge  of  the  Divine  character. 
We  hear  of  the  righteous  acts  of  the  Lord,  and  the  note 
is  welcome,  yet  most  likely  the  thought  is  of  retribu- 
tive justice  and  punishment  that  overtakes  the  enemies 
of  Israel.  When  the  remnant  of  the  nobles  and 
the  people  come  down — that  remnant  of  brave  and 
faithful  men  never  w^anting  to  Israel — the  Lord  comes 
down  with  them,  their  Guide  and  Strength.  Meroz  is 
cursed  because  the  inhabitants  do  not  go  forth  to  the 
help  of  Jehovah.  And  finally  there  is  glorying  over 
Sisera  because  he  is  an  enemy  of  Israel's  Unseen  King. 
There  is  trust,  there  is  devotion,  but  no  largeness  ot 
spiritual  view. 

We  must,  however,  remember  that  a  song  full  of  the 
spirit  of  battle  and  the  gladness  of  victory  cannot  be 
expected  to  breathe  the  ideal  of  religion.  The  mind 
of  the  singer  is  too  excited  by  the  circumstances  of 
the  time,  the  bustle,  the  triumph,  to  dwell  on  higher 
themes.  When  fighting  hasr  to  be  done  it  is  the  main 
business  of  the  hour,  cannot  be  aught  else  to  those  who 
are  engaged.    A  woman  especially,  strung  to  an  unusual 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:   A   DIVINE    VISION.  117 

pitch  of  nervous  endurance,  would  be  absorbed  in  the 
events  and  her  own  new  and  strange  position  ;  and  she 
would  pass  rapidly  from  the  tension  of  anxiety  to  a 
keen  passionate  exultation  in  which  everything  was  lost 
except  the  sense  of  deliverance  and  of  personal  vindica- 
tion. When  that  is  past  which  was  an  issue  of  life 
or  death,  freedom  or  destruction,  joy  rises  in  a  sudden 
spring,  joy  in  the  prowess  of  men,  the  fulness  of  Divine 
succour ;  neither  the  prophetess  nor  the  fighters  are  in- 
different to  justice  and  mercy,  though  they  do  not  name 
them  here.  Deborah,  a  woman  of  intense  patriotism 
and  piety,  dared  greatly  for  God  and  her  country  ;  of 
a  base  thing  she  was  incapable.  The  men  who  fought 
by  the  waters  of  Megiddo  and  slew  their  enemies 
ruthlessly  in  the  heat  of  battle  knew  in  the  time  of 
peace  the  duties  of  humanity  and  no  doubt  showed 
kindness  when  the  war  was  over  to  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  slain.  To  know  and  serve  Jehovah  was 
a  guarantee  of  moral  culture  in  a  rude  age  ;  and  the 
Israelites  when  they  returned  to  Him  must  have  con- 
trasted very  favourably  in  respect  of  conduct  with  the 
devotees  of  Baal  and  Astarte. 

For  a  parallel  case  we  may  turn  to  Oliver  Cromwell. 
In  his  letter  after  the  storming  of  Bristol,  a  bloody 
piece  of  work  in  which  the  mettle  of  the  Parliamentary 
force  was  put  keenly  to  proof,  Cromwell  ascribes  the 
victory  to  God  in  these  terms : — "  They  that  have  been 
employed  in  this  service  know  that  faith  and  prayer 
obtained  this  city  for  you.  God  hath  put  the  sword  in 
the  ParHament's  hands  for  the  terror  of  evil-doers 
and  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well."  Of  victory  after 
victory  which  left  many  a  home  desolate  he  speaks 
as  mercies  to  be  acknowledged  with  all  thankfulness. 
"  God  exceedingly  abounds  in  His  goodness  to  us,  and 


ii8  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

will  not  be  weary  until  righteousness  and  peace  meet, 
and  until  He  hath  brought  forth  a  glorious  work  for  the 
happiness  of  this  poor  kingdom."  Read  his  dispatches 
and  you  find  that  though  the  man  had  a  generous  heart 
and  was  a  sworn  servant  of  Christ  the  merciful,  yet 
he  breathes  no  compassion  for  the  royal  troops.  These 
are  the  enemy  against  whom  a  pious  man  is  bound  to 
fight ;  the  slaughter  of  them  is  a  terrible  necessity. 

Just  now  it  is  the  fashion  to  depreciate  as  much  as 
possible  the  moral  value  of  the  old  Hebrew  faith.  We 
are  assured  in  a  tone  of  authority  that  Israel's  Jehovah 
was  only  another  Chemosh,  or,  say,  a  respectable  Baal, 
a  being  without  moral  worth, — in  fact,  a  mere  name  of 
might  worshipped  by  Israelites  as  their  protector.  The 
history  of  the  people  settles  this  uncritical  theory.  If 
the  religion  of  Israel  did  not  sustain  a  higher  morality, 
if  the  faith  of  Jehovah  was  purely  secular,  how  came 
Israel  to  emerge  as  a  nation  from  the  long  conflict  with 
Moabites,  Canaanites,  Midianites  and  Philistines  ?  The 
Hebrews  were  not  superior  in  point  of  numbers,  unity 
or  military  skill  to  the  nations  whose  interest  it  was 
to  subdue  or  expel  them.  Some  vantage  ground  the 
Israehtes  must  have  had.  What  was  it  ?  Justice 
between  man  and  man,  domestic  honour,  care  for 
human  life,  a  measure  of  unselfishness, — these  at  least, 
as  well  as  the  entire  purity  of  their  religious  rites,  were 
their  inheritance  ;  through  these  the  blessing  of  the 
Eternal  rested  upon  them.  There  could  never  be  a 
return  to  Him  in  penitence  and  hope  without  a  return 
to  the  duties  and  the  faith  of  the  sacred  covenant.  We 
know  therefore  that  while  Deborah  sings  her  song  of 
battle  and  exults  over  fallen  Sisera  there  is  latent  in 
her  mind  and  the  minds  of  her  people  a  warmth  of 
moral  purpose  justifying  their  new  liberty.     This  nation 


v.]  DEBORAH'S  SONG:   A  DIVINE    VISION.  119 

is  again  a  militant  church.  The  hearts  of  men  enlarge 
that  God  may  dwell  in  them.  Israel's  triumph,  shall 
it  not  be  for  the  good  of  those  who  are  overcome  ? 
Shall  not  the  people  of  Jehovah,  going  forth  as  the  sun 
in  his  might,  shed  a  kindly  radiance  over  the  lands 
around  ?  So  fine  a  conception  of  duty  is  scarcely  to  be 
found  in  Deborah's  song,  but,  realized  or  not  in  Old 
Testament  times,  it  was  the  revelation  of  God  through 
Israel  to  the  world. 


IX. 

DEBORAirS  SONG:  A    CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM. 
Judges  v. 

WE  have  already  considered  the  song  of  Deborah 
as  a  declaration  of  God's  working  more  broad 
and  spiritual  than  might  be  looked  for  in  that  age. 
We  now  regard  it  as  exhibiting  different  relations  of 
men  to  the  Divine  purpose.  There  is  a  religious  spirit 
in  the  whole  movement  here  described.  It  begins  in 
a  revival  of  faith  and  obedience,  prospers  despite  the 
coldness  and  opposition  of  man}^,  grows  in  force  and 
enthusiasm  as  it  proceeds  and  finally  is  crowned  with 
success.  The  church  is  militant  in  a  literal  sense ; 
yet,  fighting  with  carnal  weapons,  it  is  really  contending 
for  the  glory  of  the  Unseen  King.  There  is  a  close 
parallel  between  the  enterprise  of  Deborah  and  Barak 
and  that  which  opens  before  the  church  of  the  present 
time.  No  forced  accommodation  is  needed  to  gather 
from  the  song  lessons  of  different  kinds  for  our  guidance 
and  warning  in  the  campaign  of  Christianity. 

Here  are  Deborah  herself,  a  mother  in  Israel,  and  the 
leaders  who  take  their  places  at  the  head  of  the  armies 
of  God.  Here  also  are  the  people  willingly  offering 
themselves,  imperilling  their  lives  for  religion  and 
freedom.  The  history  of  the  past  and  the  vision  of 
Jehovah  as  sole  Ruler  of  nature  and  provid._nce  en- 


v.]   DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.    121 

courage  the  faithful,  who  rise  out  of  lethargy  and  leave 
the  by-ways  of  life  to  take  the  field  in  battle  array. 
The  levies  of  Ephraim,  Benjamin,  Zebulun,  Issachar 
and  Naphtali  represent  those  who  are  decisively 
Christian,  ready  to  hazard  all  for  the  gospel's  sake. 
But  Reuben  sits  among  the  sheepfolds  and  listens  to 
the  pipings  for  the  flocks,  Dan  remains  in  ships,  Asher 
at  the  haven  of  the  sea ;  and  these  may  stand  for 
the  self-cultivating  self-serving  professors  of  religion. 
Jabin  and  Sisera  again  are  established  opponents  of 
the  right  cause ;  they  are  brave  in  their  own  defence  ; 
their  positions  look  most  formidable,  their  battahons 
shake  the  ground.  But  the  stars  from  heaven,  the 
floods  of  Kishon,  are  only  a  small  part  of  the  forces 
of  the  King  of  heaven  ;  and  the  soul  of  Israel  marches 
on  in  strength  till  the  enemy  is  routed.  Meroz  practi- 
cally helps  the  foe.  Those  who  dwell  within  its  walls 
are  doubtful  of  the  issue  and  will  not  risk  their  lives  ; 
the  curse  of  sullen  apostasy  falls  upon  them.  Jael  is 
a  vivid  type  of  the  unscrupulous  helpers  of  a  good 
cause,  those  who  employing  the  weapons  and  methods 
of  the  world  would  fain  be  servants  of  that  kingdom 
in  which  nothing  base,  nothing  earthly  can  have  place. 
And  there  are  the  children  of  the  hour,  the  fine  ladies 
of  Harosheth  whose  pleasure  and  pride  are  bound  up 
with  oppression,  who  look  through  the  lattices  and 
listen  in  vain  for  the  returning  chariots  laden  with 
spoil 

I.  The  leaders  and  head  men  of  the  tribes  under 
Deborah  and  Barak,  Deborah  foremost  in  the  great 
enterprise,  her  soul  on  fire  with  zeal  for  Israel  and 
for  God. 

Deborah  and  Barak  show  throughout  that  spirit  of 
cordial    agreement,   that    frank  support  of  each   other 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


which  at  all  times  are  so  much  to  be  desired  in  religious 
leaders.  There  is  no  jealousy,  no  striving  for  pre- 
eminence. Barak  is  a  brave  man,  but  he  will  not  stir 
without  the  prophetess ;  he  is  quite  content  to  give 
her  the  place  of  honour  while  he  does  the  martial  work. 
Deborah  again  would  commit  the  task  to  Barak's  hands 
in  complete  reliance  on  his  wisdom  and  valour;  yet 
she  is  ready  to  appear  along  with  him,  and  in  her  song, 
while  she  claims  the  prophetic  ofQce,  it  is  to  Barak  she 
renders  the  honours  of  victory — ''Lead  thy  thraldom 
in  thrall,  thou  son  of  Abinoam." 

Rarely,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  there  entire  harmony 
among  the  leaders  of  affairs.  Jealousy  is  too  often 
with  them  from  the  first.  Suspicion  lurks  under  the 
council  table,  private  ambitions  and  unworthy  fears 
make  confusion  when  each  should  trust  and  encourage 
another.  The  fine  enthusiasm  of  a  great  cause  does 
not  overcome  as  it  ought  the  selfishness  of  human 
nature.  Moreover,  varieties  in  disposition  as  between 
the  cautious  and  the  impetuous,  the  more  and  the  less 
of  sagacity  or  of  faith,  a  failure  in  sincerity  here,  in 
justice  there,  are  separating  influences  constantly  at 
work.  But  when  the  pressing  importance  of  the  duties 
entrusted  to  men  by  God  governs  every  will,  these 
elements  of  division  cease;  leaders  who  differ  in  tem- 
perament are  loyal  to  each  other  then,  each  jealous  of  the 
others'  honour  as  servants  of  truth.  In  the  Reforma- 
tion, for  example,  prosperity  was  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  two  such  men  as  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  very 
different  yet  thoroughly  united,  stood  side  by  side  in  the 
thick  of  the  conflict,  Luther's  impetuosity  moderated 
by  the  calmer  spirit  of  the  other,  Melanchthon's  craving 
for  peace  kept  from  dangerous  concession  by  the  bold- 
ness  of  his    friend.     Their   mutual   love   and   fidehty 


v.]    DEBORAirS  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.    123 

showed  the  nobleness  of  both,  showed  also  what  the 
Protestant  Gospel  was.  Their  differences  melted  away 
in  enthusiasm  for  the  Word  of  God,  which  one  thought 
of  as  a  celestial  ambrosia,  the  other  as  a  sword,  a  war, 
a  destruction  springing  upon  the  children  of  Ephraim 
like  a  lioness  in  the  forest.  The  Divine  work  was  the 
life  of  each  ;  each  in  his  own  way  sought  with  splendid 
earnestness  to  forward  the  truth  of  Christ. 

Church  leaders  are  responsible  for  not  a  little  which 
they  themselves  condemn.  Differences  do  not  quickly 
arise  among  disciples  when  the  teachers  are  modest, 
honourable,  and  brotherly.  Paul  cries,  "  Is  Christ 
divided  ?  Were  ye  baptized  into  the  name  of  Paul  ? 
What  is  Apollos  ?  What  is  Paul  ?  Ministers  by  whom 
ye  believed."  When  our  leaders  speak  and  feel  in  like 
manner  there  will  be  peace,  not  uniformity  but  some- 
thing better.  God's  husbandry,  God's  building  will 
prosper. 

But  it  is  declared  to  be  jealousy  for  religion  that 
divides — jealousy  for  the  pure  doctrine  of  Christ — 
jealousy  for  the  true  church.  We  try  to  believe  it. 
But  then  w^hy  are  not  all  in  that  spirit  of  holy  jealousy 
found  side  by  side  as  comrades,  eagerly  yet  in  cordial 
brotherhood  discussing  points  of  difference,  determined 
that  they  will  search  together  and  help  each  other  until 
they  find  principles  in  which  they  can  all  rest  ?  The 
leaders  of  different  Christian  bodies  do  not  appear  like 
Deborah  and  Barak  engaged  in  a  common  enterprise, 
but  as  chiefs  of  rival  or  even  opposing  armies.  The 
reason  is  that  in  this  church  and  the  other  there  has  been 
a  foreclosing  of  questions,  and  the  elected  leaders  are 
almost  all  men  who  are  pledged  to  the  tribal  decrees. 
In  the  decisions  of  councils  and  synods,  and  not  less 
in  the  deliverances  of  learned  doctors  apologising  each 


124  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

for  his  own  sect  and  marking  out  the  path  his  party 
must  travel,  there  has  been  ever  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles  a  hardening  and  limiting  of  opinion.  Thought 
has  been  prematurely  crystaUized  and  each  church 
prides  itself  on  its  own  special  deposit.  The  true  church 
leader  should  understand  that  a  course  which  may  have 
been  inevitable  in  the  past  is  not  the  virtue  of  to-day  and 
that  those  are  simply  adhering  to  an  antiquated  position 
who  affirm  one  church  to  be  the  sole  possessor  of  truth, 
the  only  centre  of  authority.  It  may  seem  strange  to 
advise  the  churches  to  reconsider  many  of  the  ideas 
built  into  creed  and  constitution  and  to  reject  all  leaders 
who  are  such  by  credit  of  sitting  immovable  in  the 
seats  of  the  rabbis,  but  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
power  and  assurance  waits  upon  a  new  brotherliness 
which  will  bring  about  a  new  catholicity.  Under 
guides  of  the  right  kind  the  churches  will  have  qualities 
and  distinctions  as  heretofore,  each  will  be  a  rendezvous 
for  spirits  of  a  certain  order,  but  frankly  confessing 
each  other's  right  and  honour  they  will  press  on  abreast 
to  scale  and  possess  the  uplands  of  truth. 

To  be  sure  something  is  said  of  tolerance.  But  that  is 
a  purely  political  idea.  Let  it  not  be  so  much  as  named 
in  the  assembly  of'God'fe  people.  Does  Barak  tolerate 
Deborah  ?  Does  Moses  tolerate  Aaron  ?  Does  St. 
Peter  tolerate  St.  Paul  ?  The  disciples  of  Christ 
tolerate  each  other,  do  they  ?  What  marvellous  large- 
ness of  soul !  One  or  two,  it  appears,  have  been  made 
sole  keepers  of  the  ark  but  are  prepared  to  tolerate  the 
embarrassing  help  of  well-meaning  auxiliaries.  Neither 
charity  of  that  sort  nor  flabbiness  of  belief  is  asked. 
Let  each  be  strongly  persuaded  in  his  own  mind  of 
that  which  he  has  learned  from  Christ.  But  where 
Christ  has  not  foreclosed  inquiry  and  where  sincere 


v.]    DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CUANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.    125 

and  thoughtful  believers  differ  there  is  no  place  for 
what  is  called  tolerance  ;  the  demand  is  for  brotherly 
fellowship  in  thought  and  labour. 

Deborah  was  a  mother  in  Israel,  a  nursing  mother  of 
the  people  in  their  spiritual  childhood,  with  a  mother's 
warm  heart  for  the  oppressed  and  weary  flock.  The 
nation  needed  a  new  birth,  and  that,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  Deborah  gave  it  in  the  sore  travail  of  her  soul. 
For  many  a  year  she  suffered,  prayed  and  entreated. 
Israel  had  chosen  new  gods  and  in  serving  them  was 
dying  to  righteousness,  dying  to  Jehovah.  Deborah 
had  to  pour  her  own  life  into  the  half- dead,  and  com- 
pared to  this  effort  the  battle  with  the  Canaanites  was 
but  a  secondary  matter.  So  is  it  always.  The  Divine 
task  is  that  of  the  mother-like  souls  that  labour  for  the 
quickening  of  faith  and  holy  service.  Great  victories  of 
Christian  valour,  patience  and  love  are  never  won  with- 
out that  renewal  of  humanity  ;  and  everything  is  due 
to  those  who  have  guided  the  ignorant  into  knowledge, 
the  careless  to  thought  and  the  weak  to  strength 
through  years  of  patient  toil.  They  are  not  all  prophets, 
not  all  known  to  the  tribes  :  of  many  such  the  record 
waits  hidden  with  their  God  until  the  day  of  revealing 
and  rejoicing. 

Yet  Barak  also,  the  Lightning  Chief,  has  honourable 
part.  When  the  men  are  collected,  men  new-born  into 
life,  he  can  lead  them.  They  are  Ironsides  under  him. 
He  rushes  down  from  Tabor  and  they  at  his  feet  with 
a  vigour  nothing  can  resist.  If  we  have  Deborah  we 
shall  also  have  Barak,  his  army  and  his  victory.  The 
promise  is  not  for  women  only  but  for  all  in  the 
private  ways  and  obscure  settlements  of  life  who  labour 
at  the  making  of  men.  Every  Christian  has  the  re- 
sponsibility and  joy  of  helping  to  prepare  a  wa}^  for  the 


126  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

coming  of  Jehovah  in  some  great  outburst  of  faith  and 
righteousness. 

2.  We  contrast  next  the  people  who  offered  them- 
selves willingly,  who  "jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the 
death  upon  the  high  places  of  the  field,"  and  those  who 
for  one  reason  or  another  held  aloof. 

With  united  leaders  there  is  a  measure  of  unity 
among  the  tribes.  Barak  and  Deborah  summon  all 
who  are  ready  to  strike  for  liberty,  and  there  is  a  great 
muster.  Yet  there  might  be  double  the  number. 
Those  who  refuse  to  take  arms  have  many  pretexts, 
but  the  real  cause  is  want  of  heart.  The  oppression 
of  Jabin  does  not  much  affect  some  Israelites,  and  so 
far  as  it  does  they  would  rather  go  on  paying  tribute 
than  risk  their  lives,  rather  bear  the  ills  they  have 
than  hazard  anything  in  joining  Barak.  These  holding 
back,  the  work  has  to  be  done  by  a  comparatively  small 
number,  a  remnant  of  the  nobles  and  the  people. 

But  a  remnant  is  always  found ;  there  are  men  and 
women  who  do  not  bow  the  knee  to  the  Baal  of  worldly 
fashion,  who  do  not  content  their  souls  amid  the  flesh- 
pots  of  low  servitude.  They  have  to  venture  and 
sacrifice  much  in  a  long  and  varying  war,  and  often- 
times their  flesh  and  heart  may  almost  fail.  But  a 
^reat  reward  is  theirs.  While  others  are  spiritless  and 
hopeless  they  know  the  zest  of  life,  its  real  power  and 
joy.  They  know  what  believing  means,  how  strong  it 
makes  the  soul.  Their  all  is  in  the  spiritual  kingdom 
which  cannot  be  moved.  God  is  the  portion  of  their 
souls,  their  gladness  and  glory.  Those  who  stand  by 
and  look  on  while  the  conflict  rages  may  share  to  a 
certain  extent  in  the  liberty  that  is  won,  for  the  gains 
of  Christian  warfare  are  not  limited,  they  are  for  all 
1.1  iikind.     There  is  a  wider  and  better  ordered  life  for 


v.]    DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.   127 

all  when  this  evil  custom  and  that  have  been  overcome, 
when  one  Jabin  after  another  ceases  to  oppress.  Yet 
what  is  it  after  all  to  touch  the  border  of  Christian 
liberty  ?  To  the  fighters  belongs  the  inheritance  itself, 
an  ever-extending  conquest,  a  land  of  olives  and  vine- 
yards and  streams  of  living  water. 

Different  tribes  are  named  that  sent  contingents 
to  the  army  of  Barak.  They  are  typical  of  different 
churches,  different  orders  of  society  that  are  forward 
in  the  campaign  of  faith.  The  Hebrews  who  came  most 
readily  at  the  battle  call  appear  to  have  belonged  to 
districts  where  the  Canaanite  oppression  was  heavy, 
the  country  that  lay  between  Harosheth,  the  head- 
quarters of  Sisera,  and  Hazor  the  city  of  Jabin.  So 
in  the  Christian  struggle  of  the  ages  the  strenuous 
part  falls  to  those  who  suffer  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  temporal  and  see  clearly  the  hopelessness  of  life 
without  religion.  The  gospel  of  Christ  is  peculiarly 
precious  to  men  and  women  whose  lot  is  hard,  whose 
earthly  future  is  clouded.  Sacrifices  for  God's  cause 
are  made  as  a  rule  by  these.  In  His  great  purpose,  in 
His  deep  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  life,  our  Lord  joined 
Himself  to  the  poor  and  left  with  them  a  special 
blessing.  It  is  not  that  men  who  dwell  in  comfort  are 
independent  of  the  gospel,  but  they  are  tempted  to 
think  themselves  so.  In  proportion  as  they  are  fenced 
in  amongst  possessions  and  social  claims  they  are  apt, 
though  devout,  to  miss  that  very  call  which  is  the 
message  of  the  gospel  to  them.  Well-meaning  but 
absorbed,  they  can  rarely  bestir  themselves  to  hear 
and  do  until  some  personal  calamity  or  public  disaster 
awakens  them  to  the  truth  of  things.  The  steady  sup- 
port of  Christian  ordinances  and  work  in  our  day  is 
largely  the  honour  of  people  who  have  their  full  share 


128  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

in  the  struggle  for  earthly  necessaries  or  a  humble 
standing  in  the  ranks  of  the  independent.  The  paradox 
is  real  and  striking ;  it  claims  the  attention  of  those  who 
vainly  dream  that  a  comfortable  society  v/ould  certainly 
become  Christian,  as  effect  follows  cause.  While 
the  religion  of  Christ  makes  for  justice  and  temporal 
well-being,  blessing  even  the  unbeliever,  while  it  leads 
the  way  to  a  high  standard  of  social  order,  these  things 
remain  of  no  value  in  themselves  to  men  unspiritual : 
it  holds  true  that  man  can  never  live  by  bread  alone, 
but  by  the  words  which  proceed  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God,  And  there  are  forces  at  work  among  us  on  behalf 
of  the  Divine  counsel  that  shall  not  fail  to  maintain 
the  struggle  necessary  to  the  discipline  and  growth 
of  souls. 

The  real  army  of  faith  is  largely  drawn  from  the 
ranks  of  the  toilers  and  the  heavy  laden.  Yet  not 
entirely.  We  reckon  many  and  fine  exceptions.  There 
are  rich  who  are  less  worldly  than  those  who  have 
little.  Many  whose  lot  lies  far  from  the  shadow  of 
tyranny  in  green  and  pleasant  valle3^s  are  first  to 
hear  and  quickest  to  answer  every  call  from  the  Captain 
of  the  Lord's  host.  Their  possessions  are  nothing  to 
them.  In  the  spiritual  battle  all  is  spent,  knowledge, 
influence,  wealth,  life.  And  if  you  look  for  the  highest 
examples  of  Christianity,  a  faith  pure,  keen  and  lovely, 
a  generosity  that  most  clearly  reveals  the  Master,  a 
passion  for  truth  consuming  all  lower  regards,  you  will 
find  them  where  culture  has  done  its  best  for  the  mind 
and  the  bounty  of  providence  has  kindled  a  gracious 
humility  and  an  abounding  gentleness  of  heart.  The 
tawdry  vanities  of  their  fellows  in  rank  and  wealth 
seem  what  they  are  to  these,  the  gaudy  toys  of  children 
who  have  not  yet  seen  the  glory  and  the  goal  of  life. 


v.]    DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.    129 

And  how  can  men  and  women  hear  the  clarion  of  the 
Christian  war  ringing  over  the  valleys  of  degradation 
and  fear,  see  the  Divine  contest  surging  through  the 
land,  and  not  perceive  that  here  and  here  only  is  life  ? 
Men  play  at  statecraft  and  grow  cold  as  they  intrigue ; 
they  play  at  financing  and  become  ciphers  in  a  mon- 
strous sum  ;  they  toil  at  pleasure  till  Satan  himself 
might  pity  them,  for  at  least  he  has  a  purpose  to  serve. 
All  the  while  there  is  offered  to  them  the  vigour,  the 
buoyancy,  the  glow  of  an  ambition  and  a  service  in 
which  no  spirit  tires  and  no  heart  withers.  Passing 
strange  it  is  that  so  few  noble,  so  few  mighty,  so  few 
wise  hear  the  keen  cry  from  the  cross  as  one  of  life 
and  power. 

Among  the  tribes  that  held  aloof  from  the  great 
conflict  several  are  specially  named.  Messengers  have 
gone  to  the  land  of  Reuben  beyond  Jordan,  and  carried 
the  fiery  cross  through  Bashan.  Dan  has  been  sum- 
moned and  Asher  from  the  haven  of  the  sea.  But 
these  have  not  responded.  Reuben  indeed  has  search- 
ings  of  heart.  Some  of  the  people  remember  the  old 
promise  made  at  Shittim  in  the  plain  of  Moab,  that  they 
would  help  their  brethren  who  crossed  into  Canaan, 
never  refusing  assistance  till  the  land  was  fully  pos- 
sessed. Moses  had  solemnly  charged  them  with  that 
duty,  and  they  had  bound  themselves  in  covenant :  ^' As 
the  Lord  hath  said  unto  thy  servants,  so  will  we  do." 
Could  anything  have  been  more  seriously,  more  deci- 
sively undertaken  ?  Yet,  when  this  hour  of  need  came, 
though  the  duty  lay  upon  the  conscience  nothing  was 
done.  Along  the  watercourses  of  Gilead  and  Bashan 
there  were  flocks  to  tend,  to  protect  from  the  Amalekites 
and  Midianites  of  the  desert  who  would  be  sure  to 
make  a  raid  in  the  absence  of  the  fighting  men.     To 

9 


I30  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Asher  and  Dan  the  reference  is  perhaps  somewhat 
ironical.  The  ^^  ships  "  for  trade,  the  "  haven  of  the 
sea,"  were  never  much  to  these  tribes,  and  their  mari- 
time ambition  made  an  unworthy  excuse.  They  had 
perhaps  a  little  fishing,  some  small  trade  on  the  coast, 
and  petty  as  the  gain  was  it  filled  their  hearts.  Asher 
*'  abode  by  his  creeks." 

It  is  not  to  a  religious  festival  that  Deborah  and 
Barak  have  called  the  tribes.  It  is  to  serious  and 
dangerous  duty.  Yet  the  call  of  duty  should  come  with 
more  power  than  any  invitation  even  to  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment. The  great  religious  gathering  has  its  use,  its 
charm.  We  know  the  attraction  of  the  crowded  con- 
vocation in  which  Christian  hope  and  enthusiasm  are 
re-kindled  by  stirring  words  and  striking  instances, 
faith  rising  high  as  it  views  the  wide  mission  of  gospel 
truth  and  hears  from  eloquent  lips  the  story  of  a 
modern  day  of  Pentecost.  To  many,  because  their  own 
spiritual  life  burns  dull,  the  daily  and  weekly  routine 
of  things  becomes  empty,  vain,  unsatisfying.  In  the 
common  round  even  of  valued  religious  exercise  the 
heat  and  promise  of  Christianity  seem  to  be  lacking. 
In  the  convention  they  appear  to  be  realized  as  nowhere 
else,  and  the  persuasion  that  God  may  be  felt  there  in 
a  special  manner  is  laying  hold  of  Christian  people. 
They  are  right  in  their  eager  desire  to  be  borne  along 
with  the  flood  of  redeeming  grace ;  but  we  have  need 
to  ask  what  the  life  of  faith  is,  how  it  is  best  nourished. 
To  have  a  personal  share  in  God's  controversy  with 
evil,  to  have  a  place  however  obscure  in  the  actual 
struggle  of  truth  with  falsehood, — this  alone  gives  con- 
fidence in  the  result  and  power  in  believing.  Those 
who  are  in  contact  with  spiritual  reality  because  they 
have  their  own  testimony  to  bear,  their  own  watch  to 


v.]    DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM,    131 

keep  at  some  outpost,  find  stimulus  in  the  urgency 
of  duty  and  exultation  in  the  consciousness  of  service. 
Men  often  seek  in  public  gatherings  what  they  can  only 
find  in  the  private  v^ays  of  effort  and  endurance ;  they 
seek  the  joy  of  harvest  v^^hen  they  should  be  at  the 
labour  of  sowing;  they  would  fain  be  cheered  by  the 
song  of  victory  when  they  should  be  roused  by  the 
trumpet  of  battle. 

And  the  result  is  that  where  spiritual  work  waits 
to  be  done  there  are  but  few  to  do  it.  Examine  the 
state  of  any  Christian  church,  reckon  up  those  who 
are  deeply  interested  in  its  efficiency,  who  make  sacri- 
fices of  time  and  means,  and  set  against  these  the 
half-hearted,  who  ignobly  accept  the  religious  provision 
made  for  them  and  perhaps  complain  that  it  is  not 
so  good  as  they  would  like,  that  progress  is  not  so 
rapid  as  they  think  it  might  be, — the  one  class  far 
outnumbers  the  other.  As  in  Israel  twice  or  three 
times  as  many  might  have  responded  to  Barak's  call, 
so  in  every  church  the  resolute,  the  energetic  and 
devoted  are  few  compared  with  those  who  are  capable 
of  energy  and  devotion.  It  is  sometimes  maintained 
that  the  worship  of  goodness  and  the  Christian  ideal 
command  the  minds  of  men  more  to-day  than  ever 
they  did,  and  proof  seems  ready  to  hand.  But,  after 
all,  is  it  not  religious  taste  rather  than  reverence  that 
grows  ?  Self-culture  leads  many  to  a  certain  admira- 
tion of  Christ  and  a  form  of  discipleship.  Christian 
worship  is  enjoyed  and  Christian  philanthropy  also, 
but  when  the  spiritual  freedom  of  mankind  calls  for 
some  effort  of  the  soul  and  life,  we  see  what  religion 
means — a  wave  of  the  hand  instead  of  enthusiasm,  a 
guinea  subscription  instead  of  thoughtful  service. 
Is  it  a  Christian  or  a  selfish  culture  which  is  content 


132  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

with  fragmentary  concessions  and  complacent  patronage 
where  the  claims  of  social  "  inferiors  "  are  concerned  ? 
That  there  is  a  wide  diffusion  of  religious  feeling 
is  clear  enough;  but  in  many  respects  it  is  mere 
dilettantism. 

Notice  the  history  of  the  tribes  that  lag  behind  in 
the  day  of  the  Lord's  summons.  What  do  we  hear  of 
Reuben  after  this  ?  "Unstable  as  water  thou  shalt  not 
excel."  Along  with  Gad  Reuben  possessed  a  splendid 
country,  but  these  two  faded  away  into  a  sort  of 
barbarism,  scarcely  maintaining  their  separateness  from 
the  wild  races  of  the  desert.  Asher  in  like  manner 
suffered  from  the  contact  with  Phoenicia  and  lost 
touch  with  the  more  faithful  tribes.  So  it  is  alw^ays. 
Those  who  shirk  religious  duty  lose  the  strength  and 
dignity  of  religion.  Though  greatly  favoured  in  place 
and  gifts  they  fall  into  that  spiritual  impotence  which 
means  defeat  and  extinction. 

"Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  curse 
ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they  came 
not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  It  is 
a  stern  judgment  upon  those  whose  active  assistance 
was  humanly  speaking  necessary  in  the  day  of  battle. 
The  men  only  held  back,  held  back  in  doubt,  supposing 
that  it  was  vain  for  Hebrews  to  fling  themselves 
against  the  iron  chariots  of  Sisera.  Were  they  not 
prudent,  looking  at  the  matter  all  round  ?  Why  should 
a  curse  so  heavy  be  pronounced  on  men  who  only 
sought  to  save  their  lives  ?  The  reply  is  that  secular 
history  curses  such  men,  those  of  Sparta  for  example 
to  whom  Athens  sent  in  vain  when  the  battle  of 
Marathon  was  impending ;  and  further  that  Christ  has 
declared  the  truth  which  is  for  all  time,  "  Whosoever 
will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it."     Erasmus  was  a  wise 


v.]    DEBORAH'S  SONG:  A  CHANT  OF  PATRIOTISM.    133 

man  ;  yet  he  made  the  great  blunder.  He  saw  clearly 
the  errors  of  Romanism  and  the  miserable  bondage  in 
which  it  kept  the  souls  of  men,  and  if  he  had  joined  the 
reformers  his  judgment  and  learning  would  have  become 
part  of  the  world's  progressive  life.  But  he  held  back 
doubting,  criticising,  a  friend  to  the  Reformation  but 
not  an  apostle  of  it.  Admire  as  we  may  the  wit,  the 
reasoner,  the  philosopher,  there  must  always  be  severe 
judgment  of  one  who  professing  to  love  truth  declared 
that  he  had  no  inclination  to  die  for  it.  There  are 
many  who  without  the  intellect  of  Erasmus  would  fain 
be  thought  catholic  in  his  company.  Large  is  the 
family  of  Meroz,  and  little  thought  have  they  of  any 
ban  lying  upon  them.  Is  it  a  fanciful  danger,  a  mere 
error  of  opinion  without  any  peril  in  it,  to  which  we 
point  here  ?  People  think  so ;  young  men  especially 
think  so  and  drift  on  until  the  day  of  service  is  past  and 
they  find  themselves  under  the  contempt  of  man  and 
the  judgment  of  Christ.  "  Lord,  when  saw  we  Thee  a 
stranger  or  in  prison  and  did  not  minister  unto  Thee  ?  " 
"  Depart  from  Me,  I  never  knew  you." 

3.  Jael,  a  type  of  the  unscrupulous  helpers  of  a 
good  cause. 

Long  has  the  error  prevailed  that  religion  can  be 
helped  by  using  the  world's  weapons,  by  acting  in  the 
temper  and  spirit  of  the  world.  Of  that  mischievous 
falsehood  have  been  born  all  the  pride  and  vainglory, 
the  rivalries  and  persecutions  that  darken  the  past 
of  Christendom,  surviving  in  strange  and  pitiful  forms 
to  the  present  day.  If  we  shudder  at  the  treachery 
in  the  deed  of  Jael,  what  shall  we  say  of  that  which 
through  many  a  year  sent  victims  to  inquisition- 
dungeons  and  to  the  stake  in  the  name  of  Christ? 
And  what  shall  we  say  now  of  that  moral  assassination 


134  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

which  in  one  tent  and  another  is  thought  no  sin  against 
humanity,  but  a  service  of  God  ?  Among  us  are  too 
many  who  suffer  wounds  keen  and  festering  that  have 
been  given  in  the  house  of  their  friends,  yea,  in  the 
name  of  the  one  Lord  and  Master.  The  battle  of  truth 
is  a  frank  and  honourable  fight,  served  at  no  point  by 
what  is  false  or  proud  or  low.  To  an  enemy  a  Christian 
should  be  chivalrous  and  surely  no  less  to  a  brother. 
Granting  that  a  man  is  in  error,  he  needs  a  physician 
not  an  executioner ;  he  needs  an  example  not  a  dagger. 
How  much  farther  do  we  get  by  the  methods  of 
opprobrium  and  cruelty,  the  innuendo  and  the  whisper 
of  suspicion  ?  Besides,  it  is  not  the  Siseras  to-day 
who  are  dealt  with  after  this  manner.  It  is  the 
"  schismatic "  within  the  camp  on  whom  some  Jael 
falls  with  a  hammer  and  a  nail.  If  a  church  cannot 
stand  by  itself,  approved  to  the  consciences  of  men,  it 
certainly  will  not  be  helped  by  a  return  to  the  temper 
of  barbarism  and  the  craft  of  the  world.  "  The  weapons 
of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God 
to  the  casting  down  of  strongholds." 


THE  DESERT  HORDES;  AND  THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH. 
Judges  vi.  1-14. 

JABIN  king  of  Canaan  defeated  and  his  nine  hundred 
chariots  turned  into  ploughshares  we  might  expect 
Israel  to  make  at  last  a  start  in  its  true  career. 
The  tribes  have  had  their  third  lesson  and  should  know 
the  peril  of  infidelity.  Without  God  they  are  weak  as 
water.  Will  they  not  bind  themselves  now  in  a  con- 
federacy of  faith,  suppress  Baal  and  Astarte  worship 
by  stringent  laws  and  turn  their  hearts  to  God  and 
duty  ?  Not  yet :  not  for  more  than  a  century.  The 
true  reformer  has  yet  to  come.  Deborah's  work  is 
certainly  not  in  vain.  She  passes  through  the  land 
administering  justice,  commanding  the  destruction  of 
heathen  altars.  The  people  leave  their  occupations 
and  gather  in  crowds  to  hear  her ;  they  shout,  in 
answer  to  her  appeals,  Jehovah  is  our  King.  The 
Levites  are  called  to  minister  at  the  shrines.  For  a 
time  there  is  something  like  religion  along  with  im- 
proving circumstances.  But  the  tide  does  not  rise 
long  nor  far. 

Some  tvv'enty  years  have  passed,  and  what  is  to  be 
seen  going  on  throughout  the  land  ?  The  Hebrews 
have  addressed  themselves  vigorously  to  their  work  in 
field  and  town.     Everywhere  they  are  breaking  up  new 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


ground,  building  houses,  repairing  roads,  organising 
traffic.  But  tltey  are  also  falling  into  the  old  habit  of 
friendly  interc  arse  with  Canaanites,  talking  with  them 
over  the  prospects  of  the  crops,  joining  in  their  festivals 
of  new  moon  and  harvest.  In  their  own  cities  the  old 
inhabitants  of  t'le  land  sacrifice  to  Baal  and  gather 
about  the  Asherim.  Earnest  Israelites  are  indignant 
and  call  for  action,  but  the  mass  of  the  people  are 
so  taken  up  with  their  prosperity  that  they  cannot  be 
roused.  Peace  and  comfort  in  the  lower  region  seem 
better  than  contention  for  anything  higher.  In  the 
centre  of  Palestine  there  is  a  coalition  of  Hebrew  and 
Canaanite  cities,  with  Shechem  at  their  head,  which 
recognize  Baal  as  their  patron  and  worship  him  as 
the  master  of  their  league.  And  in  the  northern  tribes 
generally  Jehovah  has  scant  acknowledgment ;  the 
people  see  no  great  task  He  has  given  them  to  do. 
If  they  live  and  multiply  and  inherit  the  land  they 
reckon  their  function  as  His  nation  to  be  fulfilled. 

It  is  a  temptation  common  to  men  to  consider  their 
own  existence  and  success  a  sort  of  Divine  end  in 
serving  which  they  do  all  that  God  requires  of  them. 
The  business  of  mere  living  and  making  Hfe  comfortable 
absorbs  them  so  that  even  faith  finds  its  only  use  in 
promoting  their  own  happiness.  The  circle  of  the 
year  is  filled  with  occupations.  When  the  labour  of 
the  field  is  over  there  are  the  houses  and  cities  to 
enlarge,  to  improve  and  furnish  with  means  of  safety 
and  enjoyment.  One  task  done  and  the  advantage  of 
it  felt,  another  presents  itself.  Industry  takes  new 
forms  and  burdens  still  more  the  energies  of  men. 
Education,  art,  science  become  possible  and  in  turn  make 
their  demands.  But  all  may  be  for  self,  and  God  may 
be  thought  of  merely  as  the  great  Patron  satisfied  with 


vi.i-14.]  DESERT  HORDES i  THE  MAX  AT  OPHRAH    137 


His  tithes.  In  this  way  the  impulses  ajid  hopes  of 
faith  are  made  the  ministers  of  egoism,  and  as  a 
national  thing  the  maintenance  of  lawjogoodwill,  and 
a  measure  of  purity  may  seem  to  furni.^ia  religion  with 
a  sufficient  object.  But  this  is  far  front  enough.  Let 
worship  be  refined  and  elaborated,  let^zreat  temples  be 
built  and  thronged,  let  the  arts  of  music  and  painting  be 
employed  in  raising  devotion  to  its  highest  pitch — still 
if  nothing  beyond  self  is  seen  as  the  aim  of  existence, 
if  national  Christianity  realizes  no  duty  to  the  world  out- 
side, religion  must  decay.  Neither  a  man  nor  a  people 
can  be  truly  religious  without  the  missionary  spirit,  and 
that  spirit  must  constantly  shape  individual  and  collec- 
tive life.  Among  ourselves  worship  would  petrify  and 
faith  wither  were  it  not  for  the  tasks  the  church  has 
undertaken  at  home  and  abroad  But  half-understood, 
half-discharged,  these  duties  keep  us  alive.  And  it  is 
because  the  great  mission  of  Christians  to  the  world 
is  not  even  yet  comprehended  that  we  have  so  much 
practical  atheism.  When  less  care  and  thought  are 
expended  on  the  forms  of  worship  and  the  churches 
address  themselves  to  the  true  ritual  of  our  rehgion, 
carrying  out  the  redeeming  work  of  our  Saviour,  there 
will  be  new  fervour  ;  unbehef  will  be  swept  away. 

Israel  losing  sight  of  its  mission  and  its  destiny 
felt  no  need  of  faith  and  lost  it ;  and  with  the  loss 
of  faith  came  loss  of  vigour  and  alertness  as  on  other 
occasions.  Having  no  sense  of  a  common  purpose 
great  enough  to  demand  their  unity  the  Hebrews  were 
again  unable  to  resist  enemies,  and  this  time  the 
Midianites  and  other  wild  tribes  of  the  eastern  desert 
found  their  opportunity.  First  some  bands  of  them 
came  at  the  time  of  harvest  arfd  made  raids  on  the 
cultivated  districts.     But  year  by  year  they  ventured 


138  7 HE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

farther  in  increasing  numbers.  Finally  they  brought 
their  tents  and  families,  their  flocks  and  herds,  and 
took  possession. 

In  the  case  of  all  who  fall  awa}^  from  the  purpose 
of  life  the  means  of  bringing  failure  home  to  them 
and  restoring  the  balance  of  justice  are  always  at  hand. 
Let  a  men  neglect  his  fields  and  nature  is  upon  him ; 
weeds  choke  his  crops,  his  harvests  diminish,  poverty 
comes  like  an  armed  man.  In  trade  likewise  careless- 
ness brings  retribution.  So  in  the  case  of  Israel : 
although  the  Canaanites  had  been  subdued  other  foes 
were  not  far  away.  And  the  business  of  this  nation 
was  of  so  sacred  a  kind  that  neglect  of  it  meant  great 
moral  fault  and  every  fresh  relapse  into  earthliness 
and  sensuality  after  a  revival  of  religion  implied  more 
serious  guilt.  We  find  accordingly  a  proportionate 
severity  in  the  punishment.  Now  the  nation  is 
chastised  with  whips,  but  next  time  it  is  with  scorpions. 
Now  the  iron  chariots  of  Sisera  hold  the  land  in  terror ; 
then  hosts  of  marauders  spread  like  locusts  over  the 
country,  insatiable,  all-devouring.  Do  the  Hebrews 
think  that  careful  tilling  of  their  fields  and  the  making 
of  wine  and  oil  are  their  chief  concern  ?  In  that  they 
shall  be  undeceived.  Not  mainly  to  be  good  husband- 
men and  vine-dressers  are  they  set  here,  but  to  be  a 
light  in  the  midst  of  the  nations.  If  they  cease  to 
shine  they  shall  no  longer  enjoy. 

It  was  by  the  higher  fords  of  Jordan,  perhaps  north 
of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  that  the  Midianites  fell  on  western 
Canaan.  Under  their  two  great  emirs  Zebah  and 
Zalmunna,  who  seem  to  have  held  a  kind  of  barbaric 
state,  troops  of  riders  on  swift  horses  and  dromedaries 
swept  the  shore  of  the  lake  and  burst  into  the  plain 
of  Jezreel.     There   were  no    doubt   many    skirmishes 


vi.i-i4.]  DESERT  HORDES ;  THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH.    139 

between  their  squadrons  and  the  men  of  Naphtali  and 
Manasseh.  But  one  horde  of  the  invaders  followed 
another  so  quickly  and  their  attacks  were  so  sudden 
and  fierce  that  at  length  resistance  became  impossible, 
the  Hebrews  had  to  betake  themselves  to  the  heights 
and  dwell  in  the  caves  and  rocks.  Once  in  the  desert 
under  Moses  they  had  been  more  than  a  match  for 
these  Arabs.  Now,  although  on  vantage  ground  moral 
and  natural,  fighting  for  their  hearths  and  homes 
behind  the  breastwork  of  lake,  river  and  mountain,* 
they  are  completely  routed. 

Between  the  circumstances  of  this  oppressed  nation 
and  the  present  state  of  the  church  there  is  a  wide 
interval,  and  in  a  sense  the  contrast  is  striking.  Is 
not  the  Christianity  of  our  time  strong  and  able  to  hold 
its  own  ?  Is  not  the  mood  of  many  churches  of  the 
present  day  properly  that  of  elation  ?  As  year  after 
year  reports  of  numerical  increase  and  larger  contri- 
butions are  made,  as  finer  buildings  are  raised  for  the 
purposes  of  worship  and  work  at  home  and  abroad  is 
carried  on  more  efficiently,  is  it  not  impossible  to  trace 
any  resemblance  between  the  state  of  Israel  during  the 
Midianite  oppression  and  the  state  of  religion  now  ? 
Why  should  there  be  any  fear  that  Baal-worship  or 
other  idolatry  should  weaken  the  tribes,  or  that 
marauders  from  the  desert  should  settle  in  their  land  ? 

And  yet  the  condition  of  things  to-day  is  not  quite 
unhke  that  of  Israel  at  the  time  we  are  considering. 
There  are  Canaanites  who  dwell  in  the  land  and  carry 
en  their  debasing  worship.  These  too  are  days  when 
guerilla  troops  of  naturalism,  nomads  of  the  primaeval 
desert,  are  sweeping  the  region  of  faith.  Reckless 
and  irresponsible  talk  in  periodicals  and  on  platforms ; 
novels,  plays   and  verses  often  as  clever  as  they  are 


140  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 


unscrupulous  are  incidents  of  the  invasion,  and  it  is 
well  advanced.  Not  for  the  first  time  is  a  raid  of  this 
kind  made  on  the  territory  of  faith,  but  the  serious 
thing  now  is  the  readiness  to  give  way,  the  want  of 
heart  and  power  to  resist  that  we  observe  in  family 
life  and  in  society  as  well  as  in  literature.  Where 
resistance  ought  to  be  eager  and  firm  it  is  often  igno- 
rant, hesitating,  lukewarm.  Perhaps  the  invasion  must 
become  more  confident  and  more  injurious  before  it 
'rouses  the  people  of  God  to  earnest  and  united  action. 
Perhaps  those  who  will  not  submit  may  have  to  betake 
themselves  to  the  caves  of  the  mountains  while  the 
new  barbarism  establishes  itself  in  the  rich  plain.  It 
has  almost  come  to  this  in  some  countries ;  and  it  may 
be  that  the  pride  of  those  who  have  been  content 
to  cultivate  their  vineyards  for  themselves  alone,  the 
security  of  those  who  have  too  easily  concluded  that 
fighting  was  over  shall  yet  be  startled  by  some  great 
disaster. 

*'  Israel  was  brought  very  low  because  of  Midian." 
A  traveller's  picture  of  the  present  state  of  things  on 
the  eastern  frontier  of  Bashan  enables  us  to  under- 
stand the  misery  to  which  the  tribes  were  reduced 
by  seven  years  of  rapine.  "  Not  only  is  the  country — 
plain  and  hill-side  aHke — chequered  with  fenced  fields, 
but  groves  of  fig-trees  are  here  and  there  seen  and 
terraced  vineyards  still  clothe  the  sides  of  some  of 
the  hills.  These  are  neglected  and  wild  but  not 
fruitless.  They  produce  great  quantities  of  figs  and 
grapes  which  are  rifled  year  after  year  by  the  Bedawin 
in  their  periodical  raids.  Nowhere  on  earth  is  there 
such  a  melancholy  example  of  tyranny,  rapacity  and 
misrule  as  here.  Fields,  pastures,  vineyards,  houses, 
villages,  cities  are  all  alike  deserted  and  waste.     Even 


vi.i-i4.]  DESERT  HORDES ;  THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH.    i^i 

the  few  inhabitants  that  have  hid  themselves  among 
the  rocky  fastnesses  and  mountain  defiles  drag  out  a 
miserable  existence,  oppressed  by  robbers  of  the  desert 
on  the  one  hand  and  robbers  of  the  government  on 
the  other."  The  Midianites  of  Gideon's  tim.e  acted  the 
part  both  of  tyrants  and  depredators.  They  *'  left  no 
sustenance  for  Israel,  neither  sheep  nor  ox  nor  ass. 
They  entered  into  the  land  for  to  destroy  it." 

''And  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord"  ; 
the  prodigals  bethought  them  of  their  Father.  Having 
come  to  the  husks  they  remembered  Him  who  fed  His 
people  in  the  desert.  Again  the  wheel  has  revolved 
and  from  the  lowest  point  there  is  an  upward  move- 
ment. The  tribes  of  God  look  once  more  towards  the 
hills  from  whence  their  help  cometh.  And  here  is  seen 
the  importance  of  that  faith  which  had  passed  into  the 
nation's  Ufe.  Although  it  was  not  of  a  very  spiritual 
kind,  yet  it  preserved  in  the  heart  of  the  people  a 
recuperative  power.  The  majority  knew  little  more 
of  Jehovah  than  His  name.  But  the  name  suggested 
avaiHng  succour.  They  turned  to  the  Awful  Name, 
repeated  it  and  urged  their  need.  Here  and  there 
one  saw  God  as  the  infinitely  righteous  and  holy  and 
added  to  the  wail  of  the  ignorant  a  more  devout  appeal, 
recognizing  the  evils  under  which  the  people  groaned 
as  punitive  and  knowing  that  the  very  God  to  Whom 
they  cried  had  brought  the  Midianites  upon  them.  In 
the  prayer  of  such  a  one  there  was  an  outlook  towards 
holier  and  nobler  life.  But  even  in  the  case  of  the 
ignorant  the  cry  to  One  higher  than  the  highest 
had  help  in  it.  For  when  that  bitter  cry  was  raised 
self-glorifying  had  ceased  and  piety  begun. 

Ignorant  indeed  is  much  of  the  faith  that  still 
expresses  itself  in   so-called  Christian   prayer,  almost 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

as  ignorant  as  that  of  the  disconsolate  Hebrew  tribes. 
The  moral  purpose  of  discipline,  the  Divine  ordinances 
of  defeat  and  pain  and  affliction  are  a  mystery  unread. 
The  man  in  extremity  does  not  know  why  his  hour 
of  abject  fear  has  come,  nor  see  that  one  by  one  all 
the  stays  of  his  selfish  life  have  been  removed  by  a 
Divine  hand.  His  cry  is  that  of  a  foolish  child.  Yet 
is  it  not  true  that  such  a  prayer  revives  hope  and  gives 
new  energy  to  the  languid  life  ?  It  may  be  many  years 
since  prayer  was  tried,  not  perhaps  since  he  who  is  now 
past  his  meridian  knelt  at  a  mother's  knee.  Still  as 
he  names  the  name  of  God,  as  he  looks  upward,  there 
comes  with  the  dim  vision  of  an  Omnipotent  Helper 
within  reach  of  his  cry  the  sense  of  new  possibilities, 
the  feeling  that  amidst  the  miry  clay  or  the  heaving 
waves  there  is  something  firm  and  friendly  on  which 
he  may  yet  stand.  It  is  a  striking  fact  as  to  any  kind 
of  religious  belief,  even  the  most  meagre,  that  it  does 
for  man  what  nothing  else  can  do.  Prayer  must  cease, 
we  are  told,  for  it  is  mere  superstition.  Without 
denying  that  much  of  what  is  called  prayer  is  an 
expression  of  egotism,  we  must  demand  an  explanation 
of  the  unique  value  it  has  in  human  life  and  a  sufficient 
substitute  for  the  habit  of  appeal  to  God.  Those 
who  would  deprive  us  of  prayer  must  first  re-make  man, 
for  to  the  strong  and  enlightened  prayer  is  necessary  as 
well  as  to  the  weak  and  ignorant.  The  Heavenly  is 
the  only  hope  of  the  earthly.  That  we  understand 
God  is,  after  all,  not  the  chief  thing  :  but  does  He 
know  us?  Is  He  there,  above  yet  beside  us,  for 
ever? 

The  first  answer  to  the  cry  of  Israel  came  in  the 
message  of  a  prophet,  one  who  would  have  been 
despised  by  the  nation  in  its  self-sufficient  mood  but 


A.\-\^:\  DESERT  HORDES;   THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH.   143 


now  obtained  a  hearing.  His  words  brought  instruc- 
tion and  made  it  possible  for  faith  to  move  and  work 
along  a  definite  line.  Through  man's  struggle  God 
helps  him ;  through  man's  thought  and  resolve  God 
speaks  to  him.  He  is  already  converted  when  he 
believes  enough  to  pray,  and  from  this  point  faith 
saves  by  animating  and  guiding  the  strenuous  will. 
The  ignorant  abject  people  of  God  learns  from  the 
prophet  that  something  is  to  be  done.  There  is  a 
command,  repeated  from  Sinai,  against  the  worship  of 
heathen  gods,  then  a  call  to  love  the  true  God  the 
Deliverer  of  Israel.  Faith  is  to  become  life,  and  life 
faith.  The  name  of  Jehovah  which  has  stood  for  one 
power  among  others  is  clearly  re-affirmed  as  that  of 
the  One  Divine  Being,  the  only  Object  of  adoration. 
Israel  is  convicted  of  sin  and  set  on  the  way  of 
obedience. 

The  answer  to  prayer  lies  very  near  to  him  who 
cries  for  salvation.  He  has  not  to  move  a  step.  He 
has  but  to  hear  the  inner  voice  of  conscience.  Is  there 
a  sense  of  neglect  of  duty,  a  sense  of  disobedience,  of 
faults  committed  ?  The  first  movement  towards  salva- 
tion is  set  up  in  that  conviction  and  in  the  hope  that 
the  evil  now  seen  may  be  remedied.  Forgiveness  is 
implied  in  this  hope,  and  it  will  become  assured  as 
the  hope  grows  strong.  The  mistake  is  often  made  of 
supposing  that  answer  to  prayer  does  not  come  till 
peace  is  found.  In  reality  the  answer  begins  when 
the  will  is  bent  towards  a  better  life,  though  that 
change  may  be  accompanied  by  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  self-humiliation.  A  man  who  earnestly  reproaches 
himself  for  despising  and  disobeying  God  has  already 
received  the  grace  of  the  redeeming  Spirit. 

But  to  Israel's  cry  there  was  another  answer.     When 


144  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

repentance  was  well  begun  and  the  tribes  turned  from 
the  heathen  rites  which  separated  them  from  each 
other  and  from  Divine  thoughts,  freedom  again  became 
possible  and  God  raised  up  a  liberator.  Repentance  in- 
deed was  not  thorough  ;  therefore  a  complete  national 
reformation  was  not  accomplished.  Yet  as  against 
Midian,  a  mere  horde  of  marauders,  the  balance  of 
righteousness  and  power  inclined  now  in  behalf  of 
Israel.  The  time  was  ripe  and  in  the  providence  of 
God  the  fit  man  received  his  call. 

South-west  from  Shechem,  among  the  hills  of 
Manasseh  at  Ophrah  of  the  Abiezrites,  lived  a  family 
that  had  suffered  keenly  at  the  hands  of  Midian.  Some 
members  of  the  family  had  been  slain  near  Tabor,  and 
the  rest  had  as  a  cause  of  war  not  only  the  constant 
robberies  from  field  and  homestead  but  also  the  duty 
of  blood-revenge.  The  deepest  sense  of  injury,  the 
keenest  resentment  fell  to  the  share  of  one  Gideon, 
son  of  Joash,  a  young  man  of  nobler  temper  than  most 
Hebrews  of  the  time.  His  father  was  head  of  a  Thou- 
sand ;  and  as  he  was  an  idolater  the  whole  clan  joined 
him  in  sacrificing  to  the  Baal  whose  altar  stood  within 
the  boundary  of  his  farm.  Already  Gideon  appears 
to  have  turned  with  loathing  from  that  base  .worship  ; 
and  he  was  pondering  earnestly  the  cause  of  the  pitiful 
state  into  which  Israel  had  fallen.  But  the  circum- 
stances perplexed  him.  He  was  not  able  to  account 
for  facts  in  accordance  with  faith. 

In  a  retired  place  on  the  hillside  where  a  winepress 
has  been  fashioned  in  a  hollow  of  the  rocks  we  first 
see  the  future  deliverer  of  Israel.  His  task  for  the 
day  is  that  of  threshing  out  some  wheat  so  that,  as 
soon  as  possible,  the  grain  may  be  hid  from  the 
Midianites ;   and   he    is   busy  with  the  flail,   thinking 


vi.  1-14.]  DESERT  HORDES)    THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH.    145 

deeply,  watching  carefully  as  he  plies  the  instrument 
with  a  sense  of  irksome  restraint.  Look  at  him  and 
you  are  struck  with  his  stalwart  proportions  and  his 
bearing :  he  is  "  like  the  son  of  a  king."  Observe 
more  closely  and  the  fire  of  a  troubled  yet  resolute 
soul  will  be  seen  in  his  eye.  He  represents  the  best 
Hebrew  blood,  the  finest  spirit  and  intelligence  of  the 
nation  ;  but  as  yet  he  is  a  strong  man  bound.  He 
would  fain  do  something  to  deliver  Israel ;  he  would 
fain  trust  Jehovah  to  sustain  him  in  striking  a  blow 
for  liberty;  but  the  way  is  not  clear.  Indignation 
and  hope  are  baffled. 

In  a  pause  of  his  work,  as  he  glances  across  the 
valley  with  anxious  eye,  suddenly  he  sees  under  an 
oak  a  stranger  sitting  stafi"  in  hand,  as  if  he  had  sought 
rest  for  a  little  in  the  shade.  Gideon  scans  the  visitor 
keenly,  but  finding  no  cause  for  alarm  bends  again  to 
his  labour.  The  next  time  he  looks  up  the  stranger 
is  beside  him  and  words  of  salutation  are  falling  from 
his  lips — "Jehovah  is  with  thee,  thou  mighty  man  of 
valour."  To  Gideon  the  words  did  not  seem  so 
strange  as  they  would  have  seemed  to  some.  Yet  what 
did  they  mean  ?  Jehovah  with  him  ?  Strength  and 
courage  he  is  aware  of.  S3^mpathy  with  his  fellow- 
Israelites  and  the  desire  to  help  them  he  feels.  But 
these  do  not  seem  to  him  proofs  of  Jehovah's  presence. 
And  as  for  his  father's  house  and  the  Hebrew  people, 
God  seems  far  from  them.  Harried  and  oppressed  they 
are  surely  God-forsaken.  Gideon  can  only  wonder  at 
the  unseasonable  greeting  and  ask  what  it  means. 

Unconsciousness  of  God  is  not  rare.  Men  do  not 
attribute  their  regret  over  wrong,  their  faint  longing 
for  the  right  to  a  spiritual  presence  within  them  and  a 
Divine  working.     The  Unseen  appears  so  remote,  man 

10 


146  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

appears  so  shut  off  from  intercourse  with  any  super- 
natural Cause  or  Source  that  he  fails  to  link  his  own 
strain  of  thought  with  the  Eternal.  The  word  of  God 
is  nigh  him  even  in  his  heart,  God  is  ^'  closer  to  him 
than  breathing,  nearer  than  hands  and  feet."  Hope, 
courage,  will,  life — these  are  Divine  gifts,  but  he  does 
not  know  it.  Even  in  our  Christian  times  the  old 
error  which  makes  God  external,  remote,  entirely  aloof 
from  human  experience  survives  and  is  more  common 
than  true  faith.  We  conceive  ourselves  separated  from 
the  Divine,  with  springs  of  thought,  purpose  and  power 
in  our  own  being,  whereas  there  is  in  us  no  absolute 
origin  of  power  moral  intellectual  or  physical.  We 
live  and  move  in  God  :  He  is  our  Source  and  our  Stay, 
and  our  being  is  shot  through  and  through  with  rays 
of  the  Eternal.  The  prophetic  word  spoken  in  our 
ear  is  not  more  assuredly  from  God  than  the  pure 
wish  or  unselfish  hope  that  frames  itself  in  our  minds 
or  the  stern  voice  of  conscience  heard  in  the  soul.  As 
for  the  trouble  into  which  we  fall,  that  too,  did  we 
understand  aright,  is  a  mark  of  God's  providential  care. 
Would  we  err  without  discipline  ?  Would  we  be 
ineffective  and  have  no  bracing  ?  Would  we  follow 
lies  and  enjoy  a  false  peace  ?  Would  we  refuse  the 
Divine  path  to  strength  yet  never  feel  the  sorrow  of 
the  weak  ?  Are  these  the  proofs  of  God's  presence 
our  ignorance  would  desire  ?  Then  indeed  we  imagine 
an  unholy  one,  an  unfaithful  one  upon  the  throne  of 
the  universe.  But  God  has  no  favourites;  He  does 
not  rule  like  a  despot  of  earth  for  courtiers  and  an 
aristocracy.  In  righteousness  and  for  righteousness, 
for  eternal  truth  He  works,  and  for  that  His  people- 
must  endure. 

"Jehovah   is   with   thee:"    so   ran    the   salutation. 


vi.  1-14.]  DESERT  HORDES;    THE  MAN  AT  OFHRAH,    147 

Gideon  thinking  of  Jehovah  does  not  wonder  to  hear 
His  name.  But  full  of  doubts  natural  to  one  so  little 
instructed  he  feels  himself  bound  to  express  them  : 
"  Why  is  all  this  evil  befallen  us  ?  Hath  not  Jehovah 
cast  us  off  and  delivered  us  into  the  hand  of  Midian  ?  " 
Unconstrainedly,  plainly  as  man  to  man  Gideon  speaks^ 
the  burdensome  thought  of  his  people's  misery  over- 
coming the  strangeness  of  the  fact  that  in  a  God- 
forsaken land  any  one  should  care  to  speak  of  things 
like  these.  Yet  momentarily  as  the  conversation 
proceeds  there  grows  in  Gideon's  soul  a  feeling  of  awe, 
a  new  and  penetrating  idea.  The  look  fastened  upon 
him  conveys  beside  the  human  strain  of  will  a  sug- 
gestion of  highest  authority;  the  words,  '^Go  in  thir 
thy  might  and  save  Israel,  have  not  I  sent  thee  ? " 
kindle  in  his  heart  a  vivid  faith.  Laid  hold  of,  liftec^ 
above  himself,  the  young  man  is  made  aware  at  lasf 
of  the  Living  God,  His  presence.  His  will.  Jehovah's 
representative  has  done  his  mediatorial  work.  Gideon 
desires  a  sign ;  but  his  wish  is  a  note  of  habitual 
caution,  not  of  disbelief,  and  in  the  sacrifice  he  finds 
what  he  needs. 

Now,  why  insist  as  some  do  on  that  which  is  not 
affirmed  in  the  text  ?  The  form  of  the  narrative  must 
be  interpreted  :  and  it  does  not  require  us  to  suppose 
that  Jehovah  Himself,  incarnate,  speaking  human  words, 
is  upon  the  scene.  The  call  is  from  Him,  and  indeed 
Gideon  has  already  a  prepared  heart,  or  he  would  not 
listen  to  the  messenger.  But  seven  times  in  the  brief 
story  the  word  Malakh  marks  a  commissioned  servant 
as  clearly  as  the  other  word  Jehovah  marks  the  Divine 
will  and  revelation.  After  the  man  of  God  has  vanished 
from  the  hill  swiftly,  strangely,  in  the  manner  of  his 
coming,  Gideon  remains  alive  to  Jehovah's  immediate 


148  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


presence  and  voice  as  he  never  was  before.     Humble 
and  shrinking—"  forasmuch  as  I  have  seen  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  face  to  face  " — he  yet  hears  the  Divine  bene- 
diction  fall  from  the  sky,  and   following  that  a  fresh 
and  immediate  summons.     Whether  from  the  tabernacle 
at  Shiloh  an  acknowledged  prophet  came  to  the  brood-  i 
ing   Abiezrite,   or  the  visitor  was  one  who  concealed  . 
his  own  name  and  haunt  that  Jehovah  might  be   the 
more   impressively   recognised,  it  matters   not.      The 
angel  of  the  Lord  made  Gideon  thrill  with  a  call   to  , 
highest  duty,  opened  his  ears  to  heavenly  voices  and 
then    left   him.      After   this  he  felt   God   to   be  with 
himself. 
'       '*  The  Lord  looked  upon  Gideon  and  said.  Go  in  this 
\    thy  might  and  save  Israel  from  the  hand  of  Midian  : 
'    have  not  I  sent  thee  ? "     It  was  a  summons  to  stern 
and  anxious  work,  and  the  young  man  could  not  be 
sanguine.      He  had  considered  and  re-considered  the 
state  of  things  so  long,  he  had  so  often  sought  a  way 
'    of  liberating  his  people  and  found  none  that  he  needed 
\    a   clear   indication   how   the   effort  was  to   be   made. 
.    Would  the  tribes  follow  him,  the  youngest  of  an  obscure 
family  in  Manasseh  ?     And  how  was  he  to  stir,  how 
1    to  gather  the  people  ?     He  builds  an  altar,  Jehovah- 
-    shalom;  he  enters  into  covenant  with  the  Eternal    in 
high  and  earnest  resolution,  and  with  a  sudden  flash 
'    of  prophet  sight  he  sees  the  first  thing  to  do.     Baal's 
/    altar  in  the  high  place  of  Ophrah  must  be  overthrown. 
Thereafter  it  will  be  known  'what  faith  and   courage 
.  are  to  be  found  in  Israel. 

It  is  the  call  of  God  that  ripens  a  life  into  power, 
resolve,  fruitfulness — the  call  and  the  response  to  it. 
Continually  the  Bible  urges  upon  us  this  great  truth, 
that  through  the  keen  sense  of  a  close  personal  rela- 


vi.  1.14.]  DESERT  HORDES;    THE  MAN  AT  OPHRAH.  149 

tion  to  God  and  of  duty  owing  to  Him  the  soul  grows 
and  comes  to  its  own.  Our  human  personahty  is 
created  in  that  way  and  in  no  other.  There  are  indeed 
lives  which  are  not  so  inspired  and  yet  appear  strong  ; 
an  ingenious  resolute  selfishness  gives  them  momentum. 
But  this  individuality  is  akin  to  that  of  ape  or  tiger ; 
it  is  a  part  of  the  earth-force  in  yielding  to  which  a 
man  forfeits  his  proper  being  and  dignity.  Look  at 
Napoleon,  the  supreme  example  in  history  of  this 
failure.  A  great  genius,  a  striking  character  ?  Only 
in  the  carnal  region,  for  human  personality  is  moral, 
spiritual,  and  the  most  triumphant  cunning  does  not 
make  a  man ;  while  on  the  other  hand  from  a  very 
moderate  endowment  put  to  the  glorious  usury  of  God's 
service  will  grow  a  soul  clear,  brave  and  firm,  precious 
in  the  ranks  of  life.  Let  a  human  being,  however 
ignorant  and  low,  hear  and  answer  the  Divine  summons 
and  in  that  place  a  man  appears,  one  who  stands 
related  to  the  source  of  strength  and  light.  And  when 
a  man  roused  by  such  a  call  feels  responsibility  for 
his  country,  for  religion,  the  hero  is  astir.  Something 
will  be  done  for  which  mankind  waits. 

But  heroism  is  rare.  We  do  not  often  commune 
with  God  nor  listen  with  eager  souls  for  His  word. 
The  world  is  always  in  need  of  men,  but  few  appear. 
The  usual  is  worshipped  ;  the  pleasure  and  profit  of 
the  day  occupy  us ;  even  the  sight  of  the  cross  does 
not  rouse  the  heart.  Speak,  Heavenly  Word !  and 
quicken  our  clay.  Let  the  thunders  of  Sinai  be  heard 
again,  and  then  the  still  small  voice  that  penetrates  the 
soul.  So  shall  heroism  be  born  and  duty  done,  and 
the  dead  shall  live. 


XL 

GIDEON,  ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER, 
Judges  vi.  15-32. 

"^  I  ^HE  Lord  is  with  thee,  thou  mighty  man  of 
A  valour  :  " — so  has  the  prophetic  salutation  come 
to  the  young  man  at  the  threshing-floor  of  Ophrah. 
It  is  a  personal  greeting  and  call — "with  thee" — just 
what  a  man  needs  in  the  circumstances  of  Gideon.. 
There  is  a  nation  to  be  saved,  and  a  human  leader  must 
act  for  Jehovah.  Is  Gideon  fit  for  so  great  a  task? 
A  wise  humility,  a  natural  fear  have  held  him  under 
the  yoke  of  daily  toil  until  this  hour.  Now  the  needed 
signs  are  given ;  his  heart  leaps  up  in  the  pulses  of  a 
longing  which  God  approves  and  blesses.  The  criti- 
cism of  kinsfolk,  the  suspicious  carping  of  neighbours, 
the  easily  affronted  pride  of  greater  families  no  longer 
crush  patriotic  desire  and  overbear  yearning  faith. 
The  Lord  is  with  thee,  Gideon,  youngest  son  of  Joash, 
the  toiler  in  obscure  fields.  Go  in  this  thy  might ;  be 
strong  in  Jehovah. 

But  the  assurance  must  widen  if  it  is  to  satisfy. 
With  me — that  is  a  great  thing  for  Gideon ;  that  gives 
him  free  air  to  breathe  and  strength  to  use  the  sword. 
But  can  it  be  true  ?  Can  God  be  with  one  only  in  the 
land  ?  He  seems  to  have  forsaken  Israel  and  sold  His 
people  to  the  oppressor.     Unless  He  returns  to  all  in 


vi.  15-32.]    GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      151 

forgiveness  and  grace  nothing  can  be  done ;  a  renewal 
of  the  nation  is  the  first  thing,  and  this  Gideon  desires. 
Comfort  for  himself,  freedom  from  Midianite  vexation  for 
himself  and  his  father's  house  would  be  no  satisfaction 
if,  all  around,  he  saw  Israel  still  crushed  under  heathen 
hordes.  To  have  a  hand  in  delivering  his  people  from 
danger  and  sorrow  is  Gideon's  craving.  The  assurance 
given  to  himself  personally  is  welcome  because  in  it  there 
is  a  sound  as  of  the  beginning  of  Israel's  redemption. 
Yet  ''if  the  Lord  be  with  us,  why  then  is  all  this 
befallen  us  ?  "  God  cannot  be  with  the  tribes,  for  they 
are  harassed  and  spoiled  by  enemies,  they  lie  prone 
before  the  altars  of  Baal. 

There  is  here  an  example  of  largeness  in  heart  and 
mind  which  we  ought  not  to  miss,  especially  because 
it  sets  before  us  a  principle  often  unrecognised.  It  is 
clear  enough  that  Gideon  could  not  enjoy  freedom 
unless  his  country  was  free,  for  no  man  can  be  safe  in 
an  enslaved  land  ;  but  many  fail  to  see  that  spiritual 
redemption  in  like  manner  cannot  be  enjoyed  by  one 
unless  others  are  moving  towards  the  hght.  Truly 
salvation  is  personal  at  first  and  personal  at  last ;  but 
it  is  never  an  individual  affair  only.  Each  for  himself 
must  hear  and  answer  the  Divine  call  to  repentance; 
each  as  a  moral  unit  must  enter  the  strait  gate,  press 
along  the  narrow  way  of  life,  agonize  and  overcome. 
But  the  redemption  of  one  soul  is  part  of  a  vast  redeem- 
ing purpose,  and  the  fibres  of  each  life  are  interwoven 
with  those  of  other  fives  far  and  wide.  Spiritual 
brotherhood  is  a  fact  but  faintly  typified  by  the  brother- 
hood of  the  Hebrews,  and  the  struggling  soul  to-day, 
like  Gideon's  long  ago,  must  know  God  as  the  Saviour 
of  all  men  before  a  personal  hope  can  be  enjoyed  worth 
the  having.     As   Gideon   showed   himself  to  have  the 


152  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Lord  with  him  by  a  question  charged  not  with  indivi- 
dual anxiety  but  with  keen  interest  in  the  nation,  so 
a  man  now  is  seen  to  have  the  Spirit  of  God  as  he 
exhibits  a  passion  for  the  regeneration  of  the  world. 
Salvation  is  enlargement  of  soul,  devotion  to  God  and 
to  man  for  the  sake  of  God.  If  anyone  thinks  he  is 
saved  while  he  bears  no  burdens  for  others,  makes  no 
steady  effort  to  liberate  souls  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
false  and  the  vile,  he  is  in  fatal  error.  The  salvation  of 
Christ  plants  always  in  men  and  women  His  mind,  His 
law  of  hfe,  Who  is  the  Brother  and  Friend  of  all. 

And  the  church  of  Christ  must  be  filled  with  His 
Spirit,  animated  by  His  law  of  life,  or  be  unworthy  the 
name.  It  exists  to  unite  men  in  the  quest  and  realiza- 
tion of  highest  thought  and  purest  activity.  The  church 
truly  exists  for  all  men,  not  simply  for  those  who 
appear  to  compose  it.  Salvation  and  peace  are  with  the 
church  as  with  the  individual  believer,  but  only  as 
her  heart  is  generous,  her  spirit  simple  and  unselfish. 
Doubtful  and  distressed  as  Gideon  was  the  church  of 
Christ  should  never  be,  for  to  her  has  been  whispered 
the  secret  that  the  Abiezrite  had  not  read,  how  the 
Lord  is  in  the  oppression  and  pain  of  the  people,  in  the 
sorrow  and  the  cloud.  Nor  is  a  church  to  suppose 
that  salvation  can  be  hers  while  she  thinks  of  any 
outside  with  the  least  touch  of  Pharisaism,  denying 
their  share  in  Christ.  Better  no  visible  church  than 
one  claiming  exclusive  possession  of  truth  and  grace ; 
better  no  church  at  all  than  one  using  the  name  of 
Christ  for  privilege  and  excommunication,  restricting 
the  fellowship  of  Hfe  to  its  own  enclosure. 

But  with  utmost  generosity  and  humaneness  goes 
the  clear  perception  that  God's  service  is  the  sternest 
of    campaigns,    beginning    with    resolute    protest   and 


vi.  15-32.]  GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      153 

decisive  deed,  and  Gideon  must  rouse  himself  to  strike 
for  Israel's  liberty  first  against  the  idol- worship  of  his 
own  village.  There  stands  the  altar  of  Baal,  the  symbol 
of  Israel's  infidelity  ;  there  beside  it  the  abominable 
Asherah,  the  sign  of  Israel's  degradation.  Already  he 
has  thought  of  demolishing  these,  but  has  never  sum- 
moned courage,  never  seen  that  the  result  would  justify 
him.  For  such  a  deed  there  is  a  time,  and  before  the 
time  comes  the  bravest  man  can  only  reap  discomfiture. 
Now,  with  the  warrant  in  his  soul,  the  duty  on  his 
conscience,  Gideon  can  make  assault  on  a  hateful 
superstition. 

The  idolatrous  altar  and  false  worship  of  one's  \ 
own  clan,  of  one's  own  family — these  need  courage  to  \ 
overturn  and,  more  than  courage,  a  ripeness  of  time 
and  a  Divine  call.  A  man  must  be  sure  of  himself  and 
his  motives,  for  one  thing,  before  he  takes  upon  him  to 
be  the  corrector  of  errors  that  have  seemed  truth  to  his 
fathers  and  are  maintained  by  his  friends.  Suppose 
people  are  actually  worshipping  a  false  god,  a  world- 
power  which  has  long  held  rule  among  them.  If  one 
would  act  the  part  of  iconoclast  the  question  is.  By 
what  right  ?  Is  he  himself  clear  of  illusion  and  idolatry  ? 
Has  he  a  better  system  to  put  in  place  of  the  old  ?  He 
may  be  acting  in  mere  bravado  and  self-display,  flou- 
rishing opinions  which  have  less  sincerity  than  those 
which  he  assails.  There  were  men  in  Israel  who  had 
no  commission  and  could  have  claimed  no  right  to 
throw  down  Baal's  altar,  and  taking  upon  them  such  a 
deed  would  have  had  short  shrift  at  the  hands  of  the 
people  of  Ophrah.  And  so  there  are  plenty  among  us 
who  if  they  set  up  to  be  judges  of  their  fellow-men  and 
of  beliefs  which  they  call  false,  even  when  these  are 
false,   deserve  simply  to  be  put  down  with  a  strong 


154  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

hand.  There  are  voices,  professing  to  be  those  of 
zealous  reformers,  whose  every  word  and  tone  are 
insults.  The  men  need  to  go  and  learn  the  first 
lessons  of  truth,  modesty  and  earnestness.  And  this 
principle  applies  all  round — to  many  who  assail  modern 
errors  as  well  as  to  many  who  assail  established  beliefs. 
On  the  one  hand,  are  men  anxious  to  uphold  the  true 
faith  ?  It  is  well.  But  anxiety  and  the  best  of  motives 
do  not  qualify  them  to  attack  science,  to  denounce  all 
rationalism  as  godless.  We  want  defenders  of  the 
faith  who  have  a  Divine  calling  to  the  task  in  the  way 
of  long  study  and  a  heavenly  fairness  of  mind,  so  that 
they  shall  not  offend  and  hurt  religion  more  by  their 
ignorant  vehemence  than  they  help  it  by  their  zeal. 
On  the  other  hand,  by  what  authority  do  they  speak 
who  sneer  at  the  ignorance  of  faith  and  would  fain 
demolish  the  altars  of  the  world  ?  It  is  no  slight 
equipment  that  is  needed.  Fluent  sarcasm,  confident 
worldliness,  even  a  large  acquaintance  with  the  dogmas 
of  science  will  not  suffice.  A  man  needs  to  prove 
himself  a  wise  and  humane  thinker,  he  needs  to  know 
by  experience  and  deep  sympathy  those  perpetual 
wants  of  our  race  which  Christ  knew  and  met  to  the 
I  uttermost.  Some  facile  admiration  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
does  not  give  the  right  to  free  criticism  of  His  life  and 
!  words,  or  of  the  faith  based  upon  them.  And  if  the 
plea  is  a  rare  respect  for  truth,  an  unusual  fidelity  to 
fact,  humanity  will  still  ask  of  its  would-be  liberator 
on  what  fields  he  has  won  his  rank  or  what  yoke 
he  has  borne.  Successful  men  especially  will  find  it 
difficult  to  convince  the  world  that  they  have  a  right  to 
strike  at  the  throne  of  Him  who  stood  alone  before  the 
Roman  Pilate  and  died  on  the  Cross. 

Gideon  was  not  unfit  to  render  high  service.     He 


vi.  15-32.]  GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      155 

was  a  young  man  tried  in  humble  duty  and  disciplined 
in  common  tasks,  shrewd  but  not  arrogant,  a  person 
of  clear  mind  and  a  patriot.  The  people  of  the  farm 
and  a  good  many  in  Ophrah  had  learned  to  trust  him 
and  were  prepared  to  follow  when  he  struck  out  a  new 
path.  He  had  God's  call  and  also  his  own  past  to 
help  him.  Hence  when  Gideon  began  his  undertaking, 
although  to  attempt  it  in  broad  day  would  have  been 
rash  and  he  must  act  under  cover  of  darkness,  he  soon 
found  ten  men  to  give  their  aid.  No  doubt  he  could  in 
a  manner  command  them,  for  they  were  his  servants. 
Still  a  business  of  the  kind  he  proposed  was  likely  to 
rouse  their  superstitious  fears,  and  he  had  to  conquer 
these.  It  was  also  sure  to  involve  the  men  in  some 
risk,  and  he  must  have  been  able  to  give  them  confi- 
dence in  the  issue.  This  he  did,  however,  and  they  went 
forth.  Very  quietly  the  altar  of  Baal  was  demolished 
and  the  great  wooden  mast,  hateful  symbol  of  Astarte, 
was  cut  down  and  split  in  pieces.  Such  was  the  first 
act  in  the  revolution. 

We  observe,  however,  that  Gideon  does  not  leave 
Ophrah  without  an  altar  and  a  sacrifice.  Destroy  one 
system  without  laying  the  foundation  of  another  that 
shall  more  than  equal  it  in  essential  truth  and  practical 
power,  and  what  sort  of  deliverance  have  you  effected  ? 
Men  will  rightly  execrate  you.  It  is  no  reformation 
that  leaves  the  heart  colder,  the  life  barer  and  darker 
than  before ;  and  those  who  move  in  the  night  against 
superstition  must  be  able  to  speak  in  the  day  of  a 
Living  God  who  will  vindicate  His  servants.  It  has 
been  said  over  and  over  again  and  must  yet  be  repeated, 
to  overturn  merely  is  no  service.  They  that  break 
down  need  some  vision  at  least  of  a  building  up,  and 
it  is  the  new  edifice  that  is  the  chief  thing.     The  world 


156  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

of  thought  to-day  is  infested  with  critics  and  destroyers 
and  may  well  be  tired  of  them.  It  is  too  much  in  need 
of  constructors  to  have  any  thanks  to  spare  for  new 
Voltaires  and  Humes.  Let  us  admit  that  demolition 
is  the  necessity  of  some  hours.  We  look  back  on  the 
ruins  of  Bastilles  and  temples  that  served  the  uses  of 
tyranny,  and  even  in  the  domain  of  faith  there  have 
been  fortresses  to  throw  down  and  ramparts  that  made 
evil  separations  among  men.  But  destruction  is  not 
progress ;  and  if  the  end  of  modern  thought  is  to  be 
agnosticism,  the  denial  of  all  faith  and  all  ideals,  then 
we  are  simply  on  the  way  to  something  not  a  whit 
better  than  primeval  ignorance. 

The  morning  sun  showed  the  gap  upon  the  hill 
where  the  symbols  had  stood  of  Baal  and  Astarte,  and 
soon  like  an  angry  swarm  of  bees  the  people  were 
buzzing  round  the  scattered  stones  of  the  old  altar  and 
the  rough  new  pile  with  its  smoking  sacrifice.  Where 
was  he  who  ventured  to  rebuke  the  city  ?  Very 
indignant,  very  pious  are  these  false  Israelites.  They 
turn  on  Joash  with  the  fierce  demand,  "  Bring  out  thy 
son  that  he  may  die."  But  the  father  too  has  come 
to  a  decision.  We  get  a  hint  of  the  same  nature  as 
Gideon's,  slow,  but  firm  when  once  roused ;  and  if 
anything  would  rouse  a  man  it  w^ould  be  this  brutal 
passion,  this  sudden  outbreak  of  cruelty  nursed  by 
heathen  custom,  his  own  conscience  meanwhile  testi- 
fying that  Gideon  was  right.  Tush  !  says  Joash,  will 
you  plead  for  Baal  ?  Will  you  save  him  ?  Is  it 
necessary  for  you  to  defend  one  whom  you  have  wor- 
shipped as  Lord  of  heaven  ?  Let  him  ply  his  lightnings 
if  he  has  any.  I  am  tired  of  this  Baal  who  has  no 
principles  and  is  good  only  for  feast-days.  He  that 
pleads  for  Baal,  let  him  be  the  man  to  die. — Unexpected 


vi.  15-32.]  GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      157 

apology,  serious  too  and  unanswerable.  Conscience 
that  seemed  dead  is  suddenly  awakened  and  carries  all 
before  it.  There  is  a  quick  conversion  of  the  whole 
town  because  one  man  has  acted  decisively  and  another 
speaks  strong  words  which  cannot  be  gainsaid.  To 
be  sure  Joash  uses  a  threat — hints  something  of  taking 
a  very  short  method  with  those  who  still  protest  for 
Baal  ;  and  that  helps  conversion.  But  it  is  force 
against  force,  and  men  cannot  object  who  have  them- 
selves talked  of  killing.  By  a  rapid  popular  impulse 
Gideon  is  justified,  and  with  the  new  name  Jerubbaal 
he  is  acknowledged  as  a  leader  in  Manasseh, 

False  religion  is  not  always  so  easily  exposed  and 
upset.  Truth  may  be  so  mixed  with  the  error  of  a 
system  that  the  moral  sense  is  confused  and  faith 
clings  to  the  follies  and  lies  conjoined  with  the  truth. 
And  when  we  look  at  Judaism  in  contact  with  Chris- 
tianity, at  Romanism  in  contact  with  the  Protestant 
spirit,  we  see  how  difficult  it  may  be  to  hberate  faith. 
The  Apostle  Paul  wielding  the  weapon  of  a  singular 
and  keen  eloquence  cannot  overcome  the  Pharisaism 
of  his  countrymen.  At  Antioch,  at  Iconium  he  does 
his  utmost  with  scant  success.  The  Protestant  refor- 
mation did  not  so  swiftly  and  thoroughly  establish 
itself  in  every  European  country  as  in  Scotland. 
Where  there  is  no  pressure  of  outward  circumstances 
forcing  new  religious  ideas  upon  men  there  must  be 
all  the  more  a  spirit  of  independent  thought  if  any 
salutary  change  is  to  be  made  in  creed  and  worship. 
Either  there  must  be  men  of  Berea  w^ho  search  the 
Scriptures  daily,  men  of  Zurich  and  Berne  with  the 
energy  of  free  citizens,  or  reformation  must  wait  on 
some  poHtical  emergency.  And  in  effect  conscience 
rarely  has  free  play,  since  men  are  seldom  manly  but 


158  '       THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


more  or  less  ely  ^heep.  Hence  the  value,  as  things 
go  in  this  v  atfj  of  leaders  like  Joash^  princes  like 
Luther's  Elej  ^  who  give  the  necessary  push  to  the 
undecided  and  >  jeck  forward  opponents  by  a  significant 
warning.  It  i»  not  the  ideal  way  of  reforming  the 
world,  but  it  has  often  answered  well  enough  within 
limits.  There  <ire  also  cases  in  which  the  threats  of 
the  enemy  have  done  good  service,  as  when  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Spanish  Armada  on  the  English  coast  did 
more  to  confirm  the  Protestantism  of  the  country  than 
many  years  of  peaceful  argument.  In  truth  were  there 
not  occasionally  something  like  master-strokes  in  Pro- 
vidence the  progress  of  humanity  would  be  almost 
imperceptible.  Men  and  nations  are  urged  on  although 
they  have  no  great  desire  to  advance  ;  they  are  com- 
mitted to  a  voyage  and  cannot  return  ;  they  are  caught 
in  currents  and  must  go  where  the  currents  bear  them. 
Certainly  in  such  cases  there  is  not  the  ardour,  and 
men  cannot  reap  the  reward  belonging  to  the  thinkers 
and  brave  servants  of  the  truth.  Practically  whether 
Protestants  or  Romanists  they  are  spiritually  inert. 
Still  it  is  well  for  them,  well  for  the  world,  that  a 
strong  hand  should  urge  them  forward,  since  otherwise 
they  would  not  move  at  all.  Of  many  in  all  churches 
it  must  be  said  they  are  not  victors  in  a  fight  of  faith, 
they  do  not  work  out  their  own  salvation.  Yet  they 
are  guided,  warned,  persuaded  into  a  certain  habit  oJ 
piety  and  understanding  of  truth,  and  their  children 
have  a  new  platform  somewhat  higher  than  their 
fathers'  on  which  to  begin  life. 

At  Ophrah  of  the  Abiezrites,  though  we  cannot  say 
much  for  the  nature  of  the  faith  in  God  which  has 
replaced  idolatry,  still  the  way  is  prepared  for  further 
and  decisive  action.     Men  do  not  cease  from  worship- 


vi.  15-32.]  GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REI   'RMER.     159 


ping  Baal  and  become  true  servants  i  aK  '■  Most  Holy 
in  a  single  day ;  that  requires  time.  nd.  e  are  better 
possibilities,  but  Gideon  cannot  teac  \  <"he  way  of 
Jehovah,  nor  is  he  in  the  mood  for  r  '(^ious  inquiry. 
The  conversion  of  Abiezer  is  quite  of  Jhe  same  sort 
as  in  early  Christian  times  was  effected-  when  a  king 
went  over  to  the  new  faith  and  ordered -iiis  subjects  to 
be  baptized.  Not  even  Gideon  knows  the  value  of  the 
faith  to  which  the  people  have  returned,  in  the  strength 
of  which  they  are  to  fight.  They  will  be  bold  now, 
for  even  a  little  trust  in  God  goes  a  long  way  in  sus- 
taining courage.  They  will  face  the  enemy  now  to 
whom  they  have  long  submitted.  But  of  the  purity 
and  righteousness  into  which  the  faith  of  Jehovah 
should  lead  them  they  have  no  vision. 

Now  with  this  in  view  many  will  think  it  strange  to 
hear  of  the  conversion  of  Abiezer.  It  is  a  great  error 
however  to  despise  the  day  of  small  things.  God  gives 
it  and  we  ought  to  understand  its  use.  Conversion 
cannot  possibly  mean  the  same  in  every  period  of  the 
world's  history ;  it  cannot  even  mean  the  same  in  any 
two  cases.  To  recognise  this  would  be  to  clear  the 
ground  of  much  that  hinders  the  teaching  and  the 
success  of  the  gospel.  Where  there  has  been  long 
familiarity  with  the  New  Testament,  the  facts  of 
Christianity  and  the  high  spiritual  ideas  it  presents, 
conversion  properly  speaking  does  not  take  place  till 
the  message  of  Christ  to  the  soul  stirs  it  to  its  depths, 
moves  alike  the  reason  and  the  will  and  creates 
fervent  discipleship.  But  the  history  of  Israel  and  of 
humanity  moves  forward  continuously  in  successive 
discoveries  or  revelations  of  the  highest  culminating  in 
the  Christian  salvation.  To  view  Gideon  as  a  religious 
J  eformer  of  the  same  kind  as  Isaiah  is  quite  a  mistake. 


i6o  Yjj^  ^rJlC  OF  JUDGES. 


He  had  scarcely  an  idea  in  common  with  the  great 
prophet  of  a  later  day.  But  the  Hberty  he  desired  for 
his  people  and  the  association  of  liberty  with  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  made  his  revolution  a  step  in  the 
march  of  Israel's  redemption.  Those  who  joined  him 
with  any  clear  purpose  and  sympathy  were  therefore 
converted  men  in  a  true  if  very  limited  sense.  There 
must  be  first  the  blade  and  then  the  ear  before  there 
can  be  the  full  corn.  We  reckon  Gideon  a  hero  of 
faith,  and  his  hope  was  truly  in  the  same  God  Whom 
we  worship — the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Yet  his  faith  could  not  be  on  a  level  with 
ours,  his  knowledge  being  far  less.  The  angel  who 
speaks  to  him,  the  altar  he  builds,  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  that  comes  upon  him,  his  daring  iconoclasm,  the 
new  purpose  and  power  of  the  man  are  in  a  range 
quite  above  material  life — and  that  is  enough. 

There  are  some  circles  in  which  honesty  and  truth- 
speaking  are  evidence  of  a  work  of  grace.  To  become 
honest  and  to  speak  truth  in  the  fear  of  God  is  to  be 
converted,  in  a  sense,  where  things  are  at  that  pass. 
There  are  people  who  are  so  cold  that  among  them 
enthusiasm  for  anything  good  may  be  called  super- 
human. Nobody  has  it.  If  it  appears  it  must  come 
from  above.  But  these  steps  of  progress,  though  we 
may  describe  them  as  supernatural,  are  elementary. 
Men  have  to  be  converted  again  and  again,  ever  making 
one  gain  a  step  to  another.  The  great  advance  comes 
when  the  soul  believes  enthusiastically  in  Christ, 
pledging  itself  to  Him  in  full  sight  of  the  cross.  This 
and  nothing  less  is  the  conversion  we  need.  To  love 
freedom,  righteousness,  charity  only  prepares  for  the 
supreme  love  of  God  in  Christ,  in  which  life  springs  to 
its  highest  power  and  joy. 


VI.  15-32.]  GIDEON,  ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      i6i 

Now  are  we  to  suppose  that  Gideon  alone  of  all  the 
men  of  Israel  had  the  needful  spirit  and  faith  to  lead 
the  revolution  ?  Was  there  no  one  but  the  son  of 
Joash  ?  We  do  not  find  him  fully  equipped,  nor  as 
the  years  go  by  does  he  prove  altogether  worthy  to  be 
chief  of  the  tribes  of  God.  Were  there  not  in  many 
Hebrew  towns  souls  perhaps  more  ardent,  more 
spiritual  than  his,  needing  only  the  prophetic  call,  the 
touch  of  the  Unseen  Hand  to  make  them  aware  of 
power  and  opportunity  ?  The  leadership  of  such  a  one 
as  Moses  is  complete  and  unquestionable.  He  is  the 
man  of  the  age ;  knowledge,  circumstances,  genius 
fit  him  for  the  place  he  has  to  occupy.  We  cannot 
imagine  a  second  Moses  in  the  same  period.  But  in 
Israel  as  well  as  among  other  peoples  it  is  often  a  very 
imperfect  hero  who  is  found  and  followed.  The  work 
is  done,  but  not  so  well  done  as  we  might  think 
possible.  Revolutions  which  begin  full  of  promise  lose 
their  spirit  because  the  leader  reveals  his  weakness 
or  even  folly.  We  feel  sure  that  there  are  many  who 
have  the  power  to  lead  in  thought  where  the  world 
has  not  dreamt  of  climbing,  to  make  a  clear  road  where 
as  yet  there  is  no  path  ;  and  yet  to  them  comes  no 
messenger,  the  daily  task  goes  on  and  it  is  not  sup- 
posed that  a  leader,  a  prophet  is  passed  by.  Are  there 
no  better  men  that  Ehud,  Gideon,  Jephthah  must  stand 
in  the  front  ? 

One  answer  certainly  is  that  the  nation  at  the  stage 
it  has  reached  cannot  as  a  whole  esteem  a  better  man, 
cannot  understand  finer  ideas.  A  hundred  men  of 
more  spiritual  faith  were  possibly  brooding  over  Israel's 
state,  ready  to  act  as  fearlessly  as  Gideon  and  to  a 
higher  issue.  But  it  could  only  have  been  after  a 
cleansing  of  the  nation's  life,  a  suppression  of  Baal- 

II 


1 62  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

worship  much  more  rigorous  than  could  at  that  time 
be  effected.  And  in  every  national  crisis  the  thought 
of  which  the  people  generally  are  capable  determines 
who  must  lead  and  what  kind  of  work  shall  be  done. 
The  reformer  before  his  time  either  remains  unknown 
or  ends  in  eclipse ;  either  he  gains  no  power  or  it 
passes  rapidly  from  him  because  it  has  no  support  in 
popular  intelligence  or  faith. 

It  may  seem  well-nigh  impossible  in  our  day  for  any 
man  to  fail  of  the  work  he  can  do ;  if  he  has  the  will 
we  think  he  can  make  the  way.  The  inward  call  is  the 
necessity,  and  when  that  is  heard  and  the  man  shapes 
a  task  for  himself  the  day  to  begin  will  come.  Is  that 
certain  ?  Perhaps  there  are  many  now  who  find 
circumstance  a  web  from  which  they  cannot  break  away 
without  arrogance  and  unfaithfulness.  They  could 
speak,  they  could  do  if  God  called  them ;  but  does  He 
call  them  ?  On  every  side  ring  the  fluent  praises  of 
the  idols  men  love  to  worship.  One  must  indeed  be 
deft  in  speech  and  many  other  arts  who  would  hope  to 
turn  the  crowd  from  its  folly,  for  it  will  only  Hsten  to 
what  seizes  the  ear,  and  the  obscure  thinker  has  not 
the  secret  of  pleasing.  While  those  who  see  no  visions 
lead  their  thousands  to  a  trivial  victory,  many  an 
uncalled  Gideon  toils  on  in  the  threshing-floor.  The 
duties  of  a  low  and  narrow  lot  may  hold  a  man  ;  the 
babble  all  around  of  popular  voices  may  be  so  loud  that 
nothing  can  make  way  against  them.  A  certain  slow- 
ness of  the  humble  and  patient  spirit  may  keep  one 
silent  who  with  little  encouragement  could  speak 
words  of  quickening  truth.  But  the  day  of  utterance 
never  comes. 

To  these  waiting  in  the  market-place  it  is  compara- 
tively a  small  thing  that  the  world  will  not  hire  them. 


vi.  15-32.]  GIDEON,   ICONOCLAST  AND  REFORMER.      163 

But  does  the  church  not  want  them  ?  Where  God  is 
named  and  professedly  honoured,  can  it  be  that  the 
smooth  message  is  preferred  because  it  is  smooth  ? 
Can  it  be  that  in  the  church  men  shrink  from  instead 
of  seeking  the  highest,  most  real  and  vital  word  that 
can  be  said  to  them  ?  This  is  what  oppresses,  for  it 
seems  to  imply  that  God  has  no  use  in  His  vineyard 
for  a  man  when  He  lets  him  wait  long  unregarded,  it 
seems  to  mean  that  there  is  no  end  for  the  wistful  hope 
and  the  words  that  burn  unspoken  in  the  breast.  The 
unrecognized  thinker  has  indeed  to  trust  God  largely. 
He  has  often  to  be  content  with  the  assurance  that 
what  he  would  say  but  cannot  as  yet  shall  be  said  in 
good  time,  that  what  he  would  do  but  may  not  shall  be 
done  by  a  stronger  hand.  And  further,  he  may  cherish 
a  faith  for  himself.  No  life  can  remain  for  ever  un- 
fruitful, or  fruitful  only  in  its  lower  capacities.  Pur- 
poses broken  off  here  shall  find  fulfilment.  Where 
the  highways  of  being  reach  beyond  the  visible  horizon 
leaders  will  be  needed  for  the  yet  advancing  host,  and 
the  time  of  every  soul  shall  come  to  do  the  utmost  that 
is  in  it.  The  day  of  perfect  service  for  many  of  God's 
chosen  ones  will  begin  where  beyond  these  shadows 
there  is  light  and  space.  Were  it  not  so,  some  of  the 
best  lives  would  disappear  in  the  darkest  cloud. 


XII. 

«*  THE  PEOPLE  ARE  YET  TOO  MANY,' 
Judges  vi.  33-vii.  7. 

ANOTHER  day  of  hope  and  energy  has  dawned. 
One  hillside  at  least  rises  sunlit  out  of  darkness 
with  the  altar  of  Jehovah  on  its  summit  and  holier 
sacrifices  smoking  there  than  Israel  has  offered  for 
many  a  year.  Let  us  see  what  elements  of  promise, 
what  elements  of  danger  or  possible  error  mingle  with 
the  situation.  There  is  a  man  to  take  the  lead,  a  young 
man,  thoughtful,  bold,  energetic,  aware  of  a  Divine  call 
and  therefore  of  some  endowment  for  the  task  to  be 
done.  Gideon  believes  Jehovah  to  be  Israel's  God  and 
Friend,  Israel  to  be  Jehovah's  people.  He  has  faith  in 
the  power  of  the  Unseen  Helper.  Baal  is  nothing,  a 
mere  name — Bosheth,  vanity.  Jehovah  is  a  certainty  ; 
and  what  He  wills  shall  come  about.  So  far  strength, 
confidence.  But  of  himself  and  the  people  Gideon  is 
not  sure.  His  own  ability  to  gather  and  command  an 
army,  the  fitness  of  any  army  the  tribes  can  supply  to 
contend  with  Midian,  these  are  as  yet  unproved.  Only 
one  fact  stands  clear,  Jehovah  the  supreme  God  with 
Whom  are  all  powers  and  influences.  The  rest  is  in 
shadow.  For  one  thing,  Gideon  cannot  trace  the  con- 
nection between  the  Most  High  and  himself,  between 
the  Power  that  controls  the  world  and  the  power  that 


vi.  33-vii.  7.]    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE  YET  TOO  MANY.''       165 

dwells  in  his  own  will  or  the  hearts  of  other  men. 
Yet  with  the  first  message  a  sign  has  been  given,  and 
other  tokens  may  be  sought  as  events  move  on.  With 
that  measure  of  uncertainty  which  keeps  a  man  humble 
and  makes  him  ponder  his  steps  Gideon  finds  himself 
acknowledged  leader  in  Manasseh  and  a  centre  of 
growing  enthusiasm  throughout  the  northern  tribes. 

For  the  people  generally  this  at  least  may  be  said, 
that  they  have  wisdom  enough  to  recognize  the  man  of 
aptitude  and  courage  though  he  belongs  to  one  of  the 
humblest  families  and  is  the  least  in  his  father's  house- 
hold. Drowning  men  indeed  must  take  the  help  that 
is  offered,  and  Israel  is  at  present  almost  in  the  condi- 
tion of  a  drowning  man.  A  Httle  more  and  it  will  sink 
under  the  wave  of  the  Midianite  invasion.  It  is  not  a 
time  to  ask  of  the  rank  of  a  man  who  has  character 
for  the  emergency.  And  yet,  so  often  is  the  hero  un- 
acknowledged, especially  when  he  beghis,  as  Gideon  did, 
with  a  religious  stroke,  that  some  credit  must  be  given 
to  the  people  for  their  ready  faith.  As  the  flame  goes 
up  from  the  altar  at  Ophrah  men  feel  a  flash  of  hope 
and  promise.  They  turn  to  the  Abiezrite  in  trust  and 
through  him  begin  to  trust  God  again.  Yes  :  there  is 
a  reformation  of  a  sort,  and  an  honest  man  is  at  the 
head  of  it.     So  far  the  signs  of  the  time  are  good. 

Then  the  old  enthusiasm  is  not  dead.  Almost  Israel 
had  submitted,  but  again  its  spirit  is  rising.  The 
traditions  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  of  Joshua,  of  Moses, 
of  the  desert  march  and  victories  linger  with  those 
who  are  hiding  amongst  the  caves  and  rocks.  Songs 
of  liberty,  promises  of  power  are  still  theirs ;  they  feel 
that  they  should  be  free.  Canaan  is  Jehovah's  gift  to 
them  and  they  will  claim  it.  So  far  as  reviving  human 
energy  and   confidence  avail,   there  is  a  germ  out  of 


i66  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

which  the  proper  life  of  the  people  of  God  may  spri»g 
afresh.  And  it  is  this  that  Gideon  as  a  reformer  must 
nourish,  for  the  leader  depends  at  every  stage  on  the 
desires  that  have  been  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  men. 
While  he  goes  before  them  in  thought  and  plan  he 
can  only  go  prosperously  v^^here  they  intelligently, 
heartily  will  follow.  Opportunism  is  the  base  lagging 
behind  with  popular  coldness,  as  moderatism  in  religion 
is.  The  reformer  does  not  wait  a  moment  when  he 
sees  an  aspiration  he  can  guide,  a  spark  of  faith  that 
can  be  fanned  into  flame.  But  neither  in  church  nor 
state  can  one  man  make  a  conquering  movement.  And 
so  we  see  the  vast  extent  of  duty  and  responsibihty. 
That  there  may  be  no  opportunism  every  citizen  must 
be  alive  to  the  morality  of  politics.  That  there  may  be 
no  moderatism  every  Christian  must  be  alive  to  the 
real  duty  of  the  church. 

Now  have  the  heads  of  families  and  the  chief  men 
in  Israel  been  active  in  rallying  the  tribes  ?  Or  have 
the  people  waited  on  their  chiefs  and  the  chiefs  coldly 
held  back  ? 

There  are  good  elements  in  the  situation  but  others 
not  so  encouraging.  The  secular  leaders  have  failed ; 
and  what  are  the  priests  and  Levites  doing  ?  We  hear 
nothing  of  them.  Gideon  has  to  assume  the  double 
office  of  priest  and  ruler.  At  Shiloh  there  is  an  altar. 
There  too  is  the  ark,  and  surely  some  holy  observances 
are  kept.  Why  does  Gideon  not  lead  the  people  to 
Shiloh  and  there  renew  the  national  covenant  through 
the  ministers  of  the  tabernacle  ?  He  knows  little  of  the 
moral  law  and  the  sanctities  of  worship ;  and  he  is  not 
at  this  stage  inclined  to  assume  a  function  that  is  not 
properly  his.  Yet  it  is  unmistakable  that  Ophrah  has 
to  be  the  religious  centre.     Ah  !  clearly  there  is  oppor- 


vi.33-vii.  7.]    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YET  TOO  MANY."       167 

tunism  among  secular  leaders  and  moderatism  among 
the  priests.  And  this  suggests  that  Judah  in  the  south, 
although  the  tabernacle  is  not  in  her  territory,  may  have 
an  ecclesiastical  reason  for  holding  aloof  now,  as  in 
Deborah's  time  she  kept  apart.  Simeon  and  Levi  are 
brethren.  Judah,  the  vanguard  in  the  desert  march,  the 
leading  tribe  in  the  first  assault  on  Canaan,  has  taken 
Simeon  into  close  alliance.  Has  Levi  also  been  almost 
absorbed  ?  There  are  signs  that  it  may  have  been  so. 
The  later  supremacy  of  Judah  in  religion  requires  early 
and  deep  root ;  and  we  have  also  to  explain  the  separa- 
tion between  north  and  south  already  evident,  which 
was  but  half  overcome  by  David's  kingship  and  re- 
appeared before  the  end  of  Solomon's  reign.  It  is  very 
significant  to  read  in  the  closing  chapters  of  Judges 
of  two  Levites  both  of  whom  were  connected  with 
Judah.  The  Levites  were  certainly  respected  through 
the  whole  land,  but  their  absence  from  all  the  inci- 
dents of  the  period  of  Deborah,  Gideon,  Abimelech 
and  Jephthah  compels  the  supposition  that  they  had 
most  affinity  with  Judah  and  Simeon  in  the  south. 
We  know  how  people  can  be  divided  by  ecclesiasticism  ; 
and  there  is  at  least  some  reason  to  suspect  that  while 
the  northern  tribes  were  suffering  and  fighting  Judah 
went  her  own  way  enjoying  peace  and  organizing 
worship. 

Such  then  is  the  state  of  matters  so  far  as  the  tribes 
are  concerned  at  the  time  when  Gideon  sounds  the 
trumpet  in  Abiezer  and  sends  messengers  throughout 
Manasseh,  Zebulun,  Asher  and  Naphtali.  Tiie  tribes 
are  partly  prepared  for  conflict,  but  they  are  weak  and 
still  disunited.  The  muster  of  fighting  men  who  gather 
at  the  call  of  Gideon  is  considerable  and  perhaps 
astonishes  him.     But  the  Midianites  are  in  enormous 


1 68  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

numbers  in  the  plain  of  Jezreel  between  Moreh  and 
Gilboa,  having  drawn  together  from  their  marauding 
expeditions  at  the  first  hint  of  a  rising  among  the 
Hebrews.  And  now  as  the  chief  reviews  his  troops 
his  early  apprehension  returns.  It  is  with  something 
like  dismay  that  he  passes  from  band  to  band.  Ill- 
disciplined,  ill-assorted  these  men  do  not  bear  the  air 
of  coming  triumph.  Gideon  has  too  keen  sight  to  be 
misled  by  tokens  of  personal  popularity ;  nor  can  he 
estimate  success  by  numbers.  Looking  closely  into  the 
faces  of  the  men  he  sees  marks  enough  of  hesitancy, 
tokens  even  of  fear.  Many  seem  as  if  they  had  gathered 
like  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  not  as  lions  ready  to  dash 
on  the  prey.  Assurance  of  victory  he  cannot  find  in  his 
army ;  he  must  seek  it  elsewhere. 

It  is  well  that  multitudes  gather  to  the  church  to-day 
for  worship  and  enter  themselves  as  members.  But  to 
reckon  all  such  as  an  army  contending  with  infidelity 
and  wickedness — that  would  indeed  be  a  mistake. 
The  mere  tale  of  numbers  gives  no  estimation  of 
strength,  fighting  strength,  strength  to  resist  and  to 
suffer.  It  is  needful  clearly  to  distinguish  between 
those  who  may  be  called  captives  of  the  church  or 
vassals  simply,  rendering  a  certain  respect,  and  those 
others,  often  a  very  few  and  perhaps  the  least  re- 
garded, who  really  fight  the  battles.  Our  reckoning 
at  present  is  often  misleading  so  that  we  occupy  ground 
which  we  cannot  defend.  We  attempt  to  assail  infidelity 
with  an  ill-disciplined  host,  many  of  whom  have  no  clear 
faith,  and  to  overcome  worldUness  by  the  co-operation 
of  those  who  are  more  than  half-absorbed  in  the 
pastimes  and  follies  of  the  world.  There  is  need  to 
look  back  to  Gideon  who  knew  w^hat  it  was  to  fight. 
While  we  are  thankful  to  have  so  many  connected  with 


vi.  33-vii.  7-]    ''THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YET  TOO  MANY:'      169 

the  church  for  their  own  good  we  must  not  suppose 
that  they  represent  aggressive  strength  ;  on  the  contrary 
we  must  clearly  understand  that  they  will  require  no 
small  part  of  the  available  time  and  energy  of  the 
earnest.  In  short  we  have  to  count  them  not  as  helpers 
of  the  church's  forward  movement  but  as  those  who 
must  be  helped. 

Gideon  for  his  work  will  have  to  make  sharp  division. 
Three  hundred  who  can  dash  fearlessly  on  the  enemy 
will  be  more  to  his  purpose  than  two-and- thirty  thou- 
sand most  of  whom  grow  pale  at  the  thought  of  battle, 
and  he  will  separate  by-and-by.  But  first  he  seeks 
another  sign  of  Jehovah.  This  man  knows  that  to  do 
anything  worthy  for  his  fellow-men  he  must  be  in  living 
touch  with  God.  The  idea  has  no  more  than  elementary 
form  ;  but  it  rules.  He,  Gideon,  is  only  an  instrument, 
and  he  must  be  well  convinced  that  God  is  working 
through  him.  How  can  he  be  sure  ?  Like  other 
Israelites  he  is  strongly  persuaded  that  God  appears 
and  speaks  to  men  through  nature;  and  he  craves  a 
sign  in  the  natural  world  which  is  of  God's  making 
and  upholding.  Now  to  us  the  sign  Gideon  asked  may 
appear  rude,  uncouth  and  without  any  moral  signifi- 
cance. A  fleece  which  is  to  be  wet  one  morning  while 
the  threshing-floor  is  dry,  and  dry  next  morning  while 
the  threshing-floor  is  wet  supplies  the  means  of  testing 
the  Divine  presence  and  approval.  Further  it  may  be 
alleged  that  the  phenomena  admit  of  natural  explana- 
tion. But  this  is  the  meaning.  Gideon  providing  the 
fleece  identifies  himself  with  it.  It  is  his  fleece,  and  if 
God's  dew  drenches  it  that  will  im.ply  that  God's  power 
shall  enter  Gideon's  soul  and  abide  in  it  even  though 
Israel  be  dry  as  the  dusty  floor.  The  thought  is  at 
once    simple   and    profound,    child-like    and    Hebrew- 


I70  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

like,  and  carefully  we  must  observe  that  it  is  a  nature 
sign,  not  a  mere  portent,  Gideon  looks  for.  It  is  not 
whether  God  can  do  a  certain  seemingly  impossible 
thing.  That  would  not  help  Gideon.  But  the  dew 
represents  to  his  mind  the  vigour  he  needs,  the  vigour 
Israel  needs  if  he  should  fail ;  and  in  reversing  the  sign, 
"Let  the  dew  be  on  the  ground  and  the  fleece  be  dry," 
he  seems  to  provide  a  hope  even  in  prospect  of  his  own 
failure  or  death.  Gideon's  appeal  is  for  a  revelation  of 
the  Divine  in  the  same  sphere  as  the  lightning  storm 
and  rain  in  which  Deborah  found  a  triumphant  proof 
of  Jehovah's  presence ;  yet  there  is  a  notable  contrast. 
We  are  reminded  of  the  "  still  small  voice  "  Elijah  heard 
as  he  stood  in  the  cave-mouth  after  the  rending  wind  and 
the  earthquake  and  the  lightning.  We  remember  also 
the  image  of  Hosea,  "  I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel." 
There  is  a  question  in  the  Book  of  Job,  ''  Hath  the 
rain  a  father  ?  or  who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of  dew  ?  " 
The  faith  of  Gideon  makes  answer,  "Thou,  O  Most 
High,  dost  give  the  dews  of  heaven."  The  silent 
distillation  of  the  dew  is  profoundly  symboHc  of  the 
spiritual  economy  and  those  energies  that  are  "not  of 
this  noisy  world  but  silent  and  Divine."  There  is 
much  of  interest  and  meaning  that  lies  thus  beneath 
the  surface  in  the  story  of  the  fleece. 

Assured  that  yet  another  step  in  advance  may  be 
taken,  Gideon  leads  his  forces  northward  and  goes 
into  camp  beside  the  spring  of  Harod  on  the  slope  of 
Gilboa.  Then  he  does  what  seems  a  strange  thing  for 
a  general  on  the  eve  of  battle.  The  army  is  large  but 
utterly  insufficient  in  discipline  and  morale  for  a  pitched 
battle  with  the  Midianites.  Men  who  have  hastily 
snatched  their  fathers'  swords  and  pikes  of  which  they 
are  half  afraid  are  not  to  be  relied  upon  in  the  heat 


vi.  33-vii.  7.]    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YET  TOO  MANY."      171 

of  a  terrible  struggle.  Proclamation  is  therefore  made 
that  those  who  are  fearful  and  trembling  shall  return 
to  their  homes.  From  the  entrenchment  of  Israel 
on  the  hillside,  where  the  name  Jalid  or  Gilead  still 
survives,  the  great  camp  of  the  desert  people  could  be 
seen,  the  black  tents  darkening  all  the  valley  toward 
the  slope  of  Moreh  a  few  miles  away.  The  sight  was 
enough  to  appal  even  the  bold.  Men  thought  of  their 
families  and  homesteads.  Those  who  had  anything 
to  lose  began  to  re-consider  and  by  morning  only  one- 
third  of  the  Hebrew  army  was  left  with  the  leader.  So 
perhaps  it  would  be  with  thousands  of  Christians  if 
the  church  were  again  called  to  share  the  reproach  of 
Christ  and  resist  unto  blood.  Under  the  banner  of  a 
popular  Christianity  many  march  to  stirring  music  who 
if  they  supposed  struggle  to  be  imminent  would  be 
tempted  to  leave  the  ranks.  Yet  the  fight  is  actually 
going  on.  Camp  is  set  against  camp,  army  is  mingled 
with  army;  at  the  front  there  is  hot  work  and  many 
are  falling.  But  in  the  rear  it  would  seem  to  be  a 
holiday  ;  men  are  idling,  gossiping,  chaffering  as  though 
they  had  come  out  for  amusement  or  trade,  not  at  all 
like  those  who  have  pledged  life  in  a  great  cause  and 
have  everything  to  win  or  lose.  And  again,  in  the  thick 
of  the  strife,  where  courage  and  energy  are  strained  to 
the  utmost,  we  look  round  and  ask  whether  the  fear- 
ful have  indeed  withdrawn,  for  the  suspicion  is  forced 
upon  us  that  many  who  call  themselves  Christ's  are  on 
the  other  side.  Did  not  some  of  those  who  are  striking 
at  us  lift  their  hands  yesterday  in  allegiance  to  the  great 
Captain  ?  Do  we  not  see  some  who  have  marched 
with  us  holding  the  very  position  we  are  to  take,  bear- 
ing the  very  standards  we  must  capture  ?  Strangely 
confused  is  the  field  of  battle,  and  hard  is  it  to  distin- 


172  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

guish  friends  from  foes.  If  the  fearful  would  retire 
we  should  know  better  how  we  stand.  If  the  enemy 
were  all  of  Midian  the  issue  would  be  clear.  But  fear- 
ful and  faint-hearted  Israelites  who  may  be  found  any 
time  actually  contending  against  the  faith  are  foes  of 
a  kind  unknown  in  simpler  days.  So  frequently  does 
something  of  this  sort  happen  that  every  Christian  has 
need  to  ask  himself  whether  he  is  clear  of  the  offence. 
Has  he  ever  helped  to  make  the  false  world  strong 
against  the  true,  the  proud  world  strong  against  the 
meek  ?  Many  of  those  who  are  doubtful  and  go  home 
may  sooner  be  pardoned  than  he  who  strikes  only  where 
a  certain  false  eclat  is  to  be  won. 

"Just  for  a  handful  of  silver  he  left  us, 

Just  for  a  riband  to  stick  in  his  coat — 
Found  the  one  gift  of  which  fortune  bereft  us, 

Lost  all  the  others  she  lets  us  devote  .... 
We  shall  march  prospering — not  thro'  his  presence ; 

Songs  may  inspirit  us — not  from  his  lyre  ; 
Deeds  will  be  done — while  he  boasts  his  quiescence, 

Still  bidding  crouch  whom  the  rest  bade  aspire." 

In  the  same  line  of  thought  lies  another  reflection. 
The  men  who  had  hastily  snatched  their  fathers'  swords 
and  pikes  of  which  they  were  half  afraid  represent  to 
us  certain  modern  defenders  of  Christianity — those  who 
carry  edged  weapons  of  inherited  doctrine  with  which 
they  dare  not  strike  home.  The  great  battle-axes  of 
reprobation,  of  eternal  judgment,  of  Divine  severity 
against  sin  once  wielded  by  strong  hands,  how  they 
trem.ble  and  swerve  in  the  grasp  of  many  a  modern  dia- 
lectician. The  sword  of  the  old  creed,  that  once  hke 
ExcaHbur  cleft  helmets  and  breastplates  through,  how 
often  it  maims  the  hands  that  try  to  use  ic  but  want 
alike  the  strength  and  the  cunning.     Too  often  we  see 


33-vii.7.]    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YEP  POO  MANY."      173 


a  wavering  blow  struck  that  draws  not  a  drop  of  blood 
nor  even  dints  a  shield,  and  the  next  thing  is  that 
the  knight  has  run  to  cover  behind  some  old  bulwark 
long  riddled  and  dilapidated.  In  the  hands  of  these 
unskilled  fighters  too  well  armed  for  their  strength  the 
battle  is  worse  than  lost.  They  become  a  laughing- 
stock to  the  enemy,  an  irritation  to  their  own  side.  It 
is  time  there  was  a  sifting  among  the  defenders  of  the 
faith  and  twenty  and  two  thousand  went  back  from 
Gilead.  .Is  the  truth  of  God  become  mere  tin  or  lead 
that  no  new  sword  can  be  fashioned  from  it,  no  blade 
of  Damascus  firm  and  keen  ?  Are  there  no  gospel 
armourers  fit  for  the  task  ?  Where  the  doctrinal  contest 
is  maintained  by  men  who  are  not  to  the  depth  of  their 
souls  sure  of  the  creeds  they  found  on,  by  men  who 
have  no  vision  of  the  severity  of  God  and  the  mean- 
ing of  redemption,  it  ends  only  in  confusion  to  them- 
selves and  those  who  are  with  them. 

Ten  thousand  Israelites  remain  who  according  to 
their  own  judgment  are  brave  enough  and  prepared 
for  the  fight ;  but  the  purpose  of  the  commander  is  not 
answered  yet.  He  is  resolved  to  have  yet  another 
winnowing  that  shall  leave  only  the  men  of  temper  like 
his  own,  men  of  quick  intelligence  no  less  than  zeal. 
At  the  foot  of  the  hill  there  flows  a  stream  of  water, 
and  towards  it  Gideon  leads  his  diminished  army  as 
if  at  once  to  cross  and  attack  the  enemy  in  camp. 
Will  they  seize  his  plan  and  like  one  man  act  upon  it  ? 
Only  on  those  who  do  can  he  depend.  It  is  an  effec- 
tive trial.  With  the  hot  work  of  fighting  before  them 
the  water  is  needful  to  all,  but  in  the  way  of  drinking 
men  show  their  spirit.  The  most  kneel  or  lie  down  by 
the  edge  of  the  brook  that  by  putting  their  lips  to  the 
water  they  may  take  a  long  and  leisurely  draught.     A 


174  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

few  supply  themselves  in  quite  another  way.  As  a 
dog  whose  master  is  passing  on  with  rapid  strides, 
coming  to  a  pool  or  stream  by  the  w^ay  stops  a  moment 
to  lap  a  few  mouthfuls  of  water  and  then  is  off  again 
to  his  master's  side,  so  do  these — three  hundred  of  the 
ten  thousand — bending  swiftly  down  carry  water  to 
their  mouths  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand.  Full  of  the 
day's  business  they  move  on  again  before  the  nine 
thousand  seven  hundred  have  well  begun  to  drink. 
They  separate  themselves  and  are  by  Gideon's. side,  be- 
yond the  stream,  a  chosen  band  proved  fit  for  the  work 
that  is  to  be  done.  It  is  no  haphazard  division  that  is 
made  by  the  test  of  the  stream.  There  is  wisdom  in 
it,  inspiration.  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Gideon,  By 
the  three  hundred  men  that  lapped  will  1  save  you  and 
deliver  the  Midianites  into  thine  hand." 

Many  are  the  commonplace  incidents,  the  seemingly 
small  points  in  Hfe  that  test  the  quality  of  men.  Every 
day  we  are  led  to  the  stream-side  to  show  what  we 
are,  whether  eager  in  the  Divine  enterprise  of  faith  or 
slack  and  self-considering.  Take  any  company  of  men 
and  women  who  claim  to  be  on  the  side  of  Christ, 
engaged  and  bound  in  all  seriousness  to  His  service. 
But  how  many  have  it  clearly  before  them  that  they 
must  not  entangle  themselves  more  than  is  absolutely 
needful  with  bodily  and  sensuous  cravings,  that  they 
must  not  lie  down  to  drink  from  the  stream  of  pleasure 
and  amusement  ?  We  show  our  spiritual  state  by 
the  way  in  which  we  spend  our  leisure,  our  Saturday 
afternoons,  our  Sabbaths.  We  show  whether  we  are 
fit  for  God's  business  by  our  use  of  the  flowing  stream 
of  literature,  which  to  some  is  an  opiate,  to  others  a 
pure  and  strengthening  draught.  The  question  simpl}^ 
is  whether  we  are  so  engaged  with  God's  plan  for  our 


vi.  33-vii.  7-J    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YET  TOO  MANY:'       175 

life,  in  comprehending  it,  fulfilling  it,  that  we  have  no 
time  to  dawdle  and  no  disposition  for  the  merely  casual 
and  trifling.  Are  we  in  the  responsible  use  of  our 
powers  occupied  as  that  Athenian  was  in  the  service 
of  his  country  of  whom  it  is  recorded  :  "  There  was 
in  the  whole  city  but  one  street  in  which  Pericles  was 
ever  seen,  the  street  which  led  to  the  market-place 
and  the  council-house.  During  the  whole  period  of 
his  administration  he  never  dined  at  the  table  of  a 
friend  "  ?  Let  no  one  say  there  is  not  time  in  a  world 
like  this  for  social  intercourse,  for  literary  and  scientific 
pursuits  or  the  practice  of  the  arts.  The  plan  of 
God  for  men  means  life  in  all  possible  fulness  and 
entrance  into  every  field  in  which  power  can  be 
gained.  His  will  for  us  is  that  we  should  give  to  the 
world  as  Christ  gave  in  free  and  uplifting  ministry, 
and  as  a  man  can  only  give  what  he  has  first  made  his 
own  the  Christian  is  called  to  self-culture  as  full  as 
the  other  duties  of  life  will  permit.  He  cannot  explore 
too  much,  he  cannot  be  too  well  versed  in  the  thoughts 
and  doings  of  men  and  the  revelations  of  nature,  for  all 
he  learns  is  to  find  high  use.  But  the  aim  of  personal 
enlargement  and  efficiency  must  never  be  forgotten, 
that  aim  which  alone  makes  the  self  of  value  and  gives 
it  real  life — the  service  and  glory  of  God.  Only  in 
view  of  this  aim  is  culture  worth  anything.  And 
when  in  the  providence  of  God  there  comes  a  call 
which  requires  us  to  pass  with  resolute  step  beyond 
every  stream  at  which  the  mind  and  taste  are  stimulated 
that  we  may  throw  ourselves  into  the  hard  fight 
against  evil  there  is  to  be  no  hesitation.  Everything 
must  yield  now.  The  comparatively  small  handful  who 
press  on  with  concentrated  purpose,  making  God's 
call  and   His  work  first   and  all  else  even   their  own 


176  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

needs  a  secondary  affair — to  these  will  be  the  honour 
and  the  joy  of  victory. 

We  Hve  in  a  time  when  people  are  piling  up  object 
after  object  that  needs  attention  and  entering  into 
engagement  after  engagement  that  comes  between 
them  and  the  supreme  duty  of  existence.  They  form 
so  many  acquaintances  that  every  spare  hour  goes  in 
visiting  and  receiving  visits :  yet  the  end  of  hfe  is  not 
talk.  They  are  members  of  so  many  societies  that  they 
scarcely  get  at  the  work  for  which  the  societies  exist : 
yet  the  end  of  life  is  not  organizing.  They  see  so 
many  books,  hear  so  much  new^s  and  criticism  that 
truth  escapes  them  altogether :  yet  the  end  of  life  is 
to  know  and  do  the  Truth.  Civilization  defeats  its 
own  use  when  it  keeps  us  drinking  so  long  at  this  and 
the  other  spring  that  we  forget  the  battle.  We  mean 
to  fight;  we  mean  to  do  our  part,  but  night  falls  while 
we  are  still  occupied  on  the  way.  Yet  our  Master  is 
one  who  restricted  the  earthly  life  to  its  simplest 
elements  because  only  so  could  spiritual  energy  move 
freely  to  its  mark. 

In  the  incidents  we  have  been  reviewing  voluntary 
churches  may  find  hints  at  least  towards  the  justifica- 
tion of  their  principle.  The  idea  of  a  national  church 
is  on  more  than  one  side  intelligible  and  valid.  Chris- 
tianity stands  related  to  the  whole  body  of  the  people, 
bountiful  even  to  those  who  scorn  its  laws,  pleading  on 
their  behalf  with  God,  keeping  an  open  door  and  sending 
forth  a  perpetual  call  of  love  to  the  weak,  the  erring, 
the  depraved.  The  ideal  of  a  national  church  is  to 
represent  this  universal  office  and  realize  this  inclusive- 
ness  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  the  charm  is  great. 
On  the  other  hand  a  voluntary  church  is  the  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  while  Christ  stands  related  to  all  men 


VI.  33-^i'-  7-]    "  THE  PEOPLE  ARE   YET  TOO  MANY. '       177 

it  is  those  only  who  engage  at  expense  to  themselves 
in  the  labour  of  the  gospel  who  can  be  called  believers, 
and  that  these  properly  constitute  the  church.  The 
Hebrew  people  under  the  theocracy  may  represent 
the  one  ideal;  Gideon's  sifting  of  his  army  points  to 
the  other;  neither,  it  must  be  frankly  confessed,  has 
ever  been  realized.  Large  numbers  may  join  with 
some  intelligence  in  worship  and  avail  themselves  of 
the  sacraments  who  have  no  sense  of  obligation  as 
members  of  the  kingdom  and  are  scarcely .  touched 
by  the  teaching  of  Christianity  as  to  sin  and  salva- 
tion. A  separated  community  again,  depending  on 
an  enthusiasm  which  too  often  fails,  rarely  if  ever 
accomplishes  its  hope.  It  aims  at  exhibiting  an  active 
and  daring  faith,  the  militancy,  the  urgency  of  the 
gospel,  and  in  this  mission  what  is  counted  success 
may  be  a  hindrance  and  a  snare.  Numbers  grow, 
wealth  is  acquired,  but  the  intensity  of  belief  is  less 
than  it  was  and  the  sacrifices  still  required  are  not 
freely  made.  Nevertheless  is  it  not  plain  that  a  society 
which  would  represent  the  imperative  claim  of  Christ 
to  the  undivided  faith  and  loyalty  of  His  followers 
must  found  upon  a  personal  sense  of  obligation  and 
personal  eagerness?  Is  it  not  plain  that  a  society  which 
would  represent  the  purity,  the  unearthliness,  the 
rigour,  we  may  even  say,  of  Christ's  doctrine.  His  life 
of  renunciation  and  His  cross  must  show  a  separateness 
from  the  careless  world  and  move  distinctly  in  advance 
of  popular  religious  sentiment  ?  Israel  was  God's 
people,  yet  when  a  leader  went  forth  to  a  work  of 
deliverance  he  had  to  sift  out  the  few  keen  and  devoted 
spirits.  In  truth  every  reformation  implies  a  winnow- 
ing, and  he  does  little  as  a  teacher  or  a  guide  who  does 
not  make  division  among  men 

12 


XIII. 

*^  MI  DIANAS  EVIL  DAY,"* 
Judges  vii.  8-viii.  21. 

THERE  is  now  with  Gideon  a  select  band  of 
three  hundred  ready  for  a  night  attack  on  the 
Midianites.  The  leader  has  been  guided  to  a  singular 
and  striking  plan  of  action.  It  is  however  as  he  well 
knows  a  daring  thing  to  begin  assault  upon  the  im- 
mense camp  of  Midian  with  so  small  a  band,  even 
though  reserves  of  nearly  ten  thousand  wait  to  join 
in  the  struggle ;  and  we  can  easily  see  that  the  temper 
and  spirit  of  the  enemy  were  important  considerations 
on  the  eve  of  so  hazardous  a  battle.  If  the  Midianites, 
Amalekites  and  Children  of  the  East  formed  a  united 
army,  if  they  w^ere  prepared  to  resist,  if  they  had  posted 
sentinels  on  every  side  and  were  bold  in  prospect  of 
the  fight,  it  was  necessary  for  Gideon  to  be  well 
aware  of  the  facts.  On  the  other  hand  if  there  were 
symptoms  of  division  in  the  tents  of  the  enemy,  if 
there  were  no  adequate  preparations,  and  especially  if 
the  spirit  of  doubt  or  fear  had  begun  to  show  itself, 
these  would  be  indications  that  Jehovah  was  preparing 
victory  for  the  Hebrews. 

Gideon  is  led  to  inquire  for  himself  into  the  condition 
of  the  Midianitish  host.  To  learn  that  already  his 
name  kindles  terror  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  will 


vii.  8-viii.2i.]  ''MIDIAN'S  EVIL  DAY''  179 

dispel  his  lingering  anxiety.  *'  Jehovah  said  unto  him 
...  Go  thou  with  Purah  thy  servant  down  to  the 
camp ;  and  thou  shalt  hear  what  they  say  ;  and  after- 
ward shall  thine  hands  be  strengthened."  The  principle 
is  that  for  those  who  are  on  God's  side  it  is  always 
best  to  know  fully  the  nature  of  the  opposition.  The 
temper  of  the  enemies  of  religion,  those  irregular  troops 
of  infidelity  and  unrighteousness  with  whom  we  have 
to  contend,  is  an  element  of  great  importance  in  shap- 
ing the  course  of  our  Christian  warfare.  We  hear  of 
organised  vice,  of  combinations  great  and  resolute 
against  which  we  have  to  do  battle.  Language  is  used 
which  implies  that  the  condition  of  the  churches  of 
Christ  contrasts  pitiably  with  the  activity  and  agree- 
ment of  those  who  follow  the  black  banners  of  evil. 
A  vague  terror  possesses  many  that  in  the  conflict  with 
vice  they  must  face  immense  resources  and  a  powerful 
confederacy.  The  far-stretching  encampment  of  the 
Midianites  is  to  all  appearance  organised  for  defence  at 
every  point,  and  while  the  servants  of  God  are  resolved 
to  attack  they  are  oppressed  by  the  vastness  of  the 
enterprise.  Impiety,  sensuality,  injustice  may  seem  to 
be  in  close  alliance  with  each  other,  on  the  best  under- 
standing, fortified  by  superhuman  craft  and  malice, 
with  their  gods  in  their  midst  to  help  them.  But  let 
us  go  down  to  the  host  and  listen,  the  state  of  things 
may  be  other  than  we  have  thought. 

Under  cover  of  the  night  which  made  Midian  seem 
more  awful  the  Hebrew  chief  and  his  servant  left  the 
outpost  on  the  slope  of  Gilboa  and  crept  from  shadow 
to  shadow  across  the  space  which  separated  them  from 
the  enemy,  vaguely  seeking  what  quickly  came.  Lying 
in  breathless  silence  behind  some  bush  or  wall  the 
Hebrews  heard  one  relating  a  dream  to  his  fellow.     "  I 


i8o  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

dreamed,"  he  said,  **  and,  lo,  a  cake  of  barley  bread 
tumbled  into  the  camp  of  Midian  and  came  unto  a 
tent  and  smote  it  that  it  fell,  and  overturned  it  that  it 
lay  along."  The  thoughts  of  the  day  are  reproduced 
in  the  visions  of  the  night.  Evidently  this  man  has 
had  his  mind  directed  to  the  likelihood  of  attack, 
the  possibility  of  defeat.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Hebrews  are  gathering  to  try  the  issue  of  battle. 
They  are  indeed  like  a  barley  cake  such  as  poor  Arabs 
bake  among  ashes — a  defeated  famished  people  whose 
life  has  been  almost  drained  away.  But  tidings  have 
come  of  their  return  to  Jehovah  and  traditions  of  His 
marvellous  power  are  current  among  the  desert  tribes. 
A  confused  sense  of  all  this  has  shaped  the  dream  in 
which  the  tent  of  the  chief  appears  prostrate  and 
despoiled.  Gideon  and  Purah  listen  intently,  and  what 
they  hear  further  is  even  more  unexpected  and  re- 
assuring. The  dream  is  interpreted  :  "  This  is  nothing 
else  save  the  sword  of  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash,  a  man 
of  Israel ;  for  into  his  hand  God  hath  delivered  Midian 
and  all  the  host."  He  who  reads  the  dream  knows 
more  than  the  other.  He  has  the  name  of  the  Hebrew 
captain.  He  has  heard  of  the  Divine  messenger  who 
called  Gideon  to  his  task  and  assured  him  of  victory. 
As  for  the  apparent  strength  of  the  host  of  Midian, 
he  has  no  confidence  in  it  for  he  has  felt  the  tremor  that 
passes  through  the  great  camp.  So,  lying  concealed, 
Gideon  hears  from  his  enemies  themselves  as  from 
God  the  promise  of  victory,  and  full  of  worshipping  joy 
hastens  back  to  prepare  for  an  immediate  attack. 

Now  in  every  combination  of  godless  men  there  is 
a  like  feehng  of  insecurity,  a  like  presage  of  disaster. 
Those  who  are  in  revolt  against  justice,  truth  and  the 
religion   of  God   have  nothing  on  which  to  rest,  no 


21.]  ''MIDI AN' S  EVIL  DAY."  i8i 


enduring  bond  of  union.  What  do  they  conceive  as 
the  issue  of  their  attempts  and  schemes  ?  Have  they 
anything  in  view  that  can  give  heart  and  courage ;  an 
end  worth  toil  and  hazard  ?  It  is  impossible,  for  their 
efforts  are  all  in  the  region  of  the  false  where  the 
seeming  realities  are  but  shadows  that  perpetually 
change.  Let  it  be  allowed  that  to  a  certain  extent, 
common  interests  draw  together  men  of  no  principle 
so  that  they  can  co-operate  for  a  time.  Yet  each  in- 
dividual is  secretly  bent  on  his  own  pleasure  or  profit 
and  there  is  nothing  that  can  unite  them  constantly. 
One  selfish  and  unjust  person  may  be  depended  upon 
to  conceive  a  lively  antipathy  to  every  other  selfish  and 
unjust  person.  Midian  and  Amalek  have  their  differ- 
ences with  one  another,  and  each  has  its  own  rival 
chiefs,  rival  families,  full  of  the  bitterest  jealousy  which 
at  any  moment  may  burst  into  flame.  The  whole  com- 
bination is  weak  from  the  beginning,  a  mere  horde 
of  clashing  desires  incapable  of  harmony,  incapable  of 
a  sustaining  hope. 

In  the  course  of  our  Lord's  brief  ministry  the  in- 
security of  those  who  opposed  Him  was  often  shown. 
The  chief  priests  and  scribes  and  lawyers  whispered  to 
each  other  the  fears  and  anxieties  He  aroused.  In  the 
Sanhedrin  the  discussion  about  Him  comes  to  the  point, 
"What  do  we  ?  For  this  man  doeth  many  signs.  If 
we  let  Him  thus  alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  Him  : 
and  the  Romans  will  come  and  take  away  both  our 
peace  and  our  nation."  The  Pharisees  say  among, 
themselves,  ''  Perceive  ye  how  ye  prevail  nothing  ? 
Behold  the  world  is  gone  after  Him."  And  what  was 
the  reason,  what  was  the  cause  of  this  weakness  ? 
Intense  devotion  to  the  law  and  the  institutions  of 
religion  animated   those  Israelites  yet  sufficed  not  to 


1 82  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

bind  them  together.  Rival  schools  and  claims  honey- 
combed the  whole  social  and  ecclesiastical  fabric.  The 
pride  of  religious  ancestry  and  a  keenly  cherished 
ambition  could  not  maintain  peace  or  hope ;  they  were 
of  no  use  against  the  calm  authority  of  the  Nazarene. 
Judaism  was  full  of  the  bitterness  of  falsehood.  The 
seeds  of  despair  were  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
accused  Christ,  and  the  terrible  harvest  was  reaped 
within  a  generation. 

Passing  from  this  supreme  evidence  that  the  v\n-ong 
can  never  be  the  strong,  look  at  those  ignorant  and 
unhappy  persons  who  combine  against  the  laws  of 
society.  Their  suspicions  of  each  other  are  proverbial, 
and  ever  with  them  is  the  feeling  that  sooner  or  later 
they  will  be  overtaken  by  the  law.  They  dream  of  that 
and  tell  each  other  their  dreams.  The  game  of  crime 
is  played  against  well-known  odds.  Those  who  carry 
it  on  are  aware  that  their  haunts  will  be  discovered, 
their  gang  broken  up.  A  bribe  will  tempt  one  of  their 
number  and  the  rest  will  have  to  go  their  way  to  the 
cell  or  the  gallows.  Yet  with  the  presage  of  defeat 
wrought  into  the  very  constitution  of  the  mind  and  with 
innumerable  proofs  that  it  is  no  delusion,  there  are 
always  those  amongst  us  who  attempt  what  even  in 
this  world  is  so  hazardous  and  in  the  larger  sweep  of 
moral  economy  is  impossible.  In  selfishness,  in  op- 
pression and  injustice,  in  every  kind  of  sensuality  men 
adventure  as  if  they  could  ensure  their  safety  and  defy 
the  day  of  reckoning. 

Gideon  is  now  well  persuaded  that  the  fear  of 
disaster  is  not  for  Israel.  He  returns  to  the  camp  and 
forthwith  prepares  to  strike.  It  seems  to  him  now  the 
easiest  thing  possible  to  throw  into  confusion  that 
great  encampment  of  Midian.     One  bold  device  rapidly 


vii.8-viii.2i.]  "MIDIAN'S  EVIL  DAY."  183 

executed  will  set  in  operation  the  suspicions  and  fears 
of  the  different  desert  tribes  and  they  will  melt  away 
in  defeat.  The  stratagem  has  already  shaped  itself 
The  three  hundred  are  provided  with  the  earthenware 
jars  or  pitchers  in  which  their  simple  food  has  been 
carried.  They  soon  procure  firebrands  and  from 
among  the  ten  thousand  in  the  camp  enough  rams'  horns 
are  collected  to  supply  one  to  each  of  the  attacking 
party.  Then  three  bands  are  formed  of  equal  strength 
and  ordered  to  advance  from  different  sides  upon  the 
enemy,  holding  themselves  ready  at  a  given  signal  to 
break  the  pitchers,  flash  the  torches  in  the  air  and 
make  as  much  noise  as  they  can  with  their  rude  moun- 
tain horns.  The  scheme  is  simple,  quaint,  ingenious. 
It  reveals  skill  in  making  use  of  the  most  ordinary 
materials  which  is  of  the  very  essence  of  generalship. 
The  harsh  cornets  especially  filling  the  valley  with 
barbaric  tumult  are  well  adapted  to  create  terror  and 
confusion.  We  hear  nothing  of  ordinary  weapons,  but 
it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  three  hundred  were 
unarmed. 

It  was  not  long  after  midnight,  the  middle  watch  had 
been  newly  set,  when  the  three  companies  reached 
their  stations.  The  orders  had  been  well  seized  and 
all  went  precisely  as  Gideon  had  conceived.  With 
crash  and  tumult  and  flare  of  torches  there  came  the 
battle-shout — "  Sword  of  Jehovah  and  of  Gideon.' 
The  Israelites  had  no  need  to  press  forward ;  they 
stood  every  man  in  his  place,  while  fear  and  suspicion 
did  the  work.  The  host  ran  and  cried  and  fled.  To 
and  fro  among  the  tents,  seeing  now  on  this  side  now 
on  that  the  menacing  flames,  turning  from  the  battle- 
cry  here  to  be  met  in  an  opposite  quarter  by  the  wild 
dissonance  of  the  horns,  the  surprised  army  was  thrown 


1 84  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

into  utter  confusion.  Every  one  thought  of  treachery 
and  turned  his  sword  against  his  fellow.  Escape  was 
the  common  impulse,  and  the  flight  of  the  disorganized 
host  took  a  south-easterly  direction  by  the  road  that 
led  to  the  Jordan  valley  and  across  it  to  the  Hauran 
and  the  desert.  It  was  a  complete  rout  and  the 
Hebrews  had  only  to  follow  up  their  advantage.  Those 
who  had  not  shared  the  attack  joined  in  the  pursuit. 
Every  village  that  the  flying  Midianites  passed  sent  out 
its  men,  brave  enough  now  that  the  arm  of  the  tyrant 
was  broken.  Down  to  the  ghor  of  Jordan  the  terror- 
stricken  Arabs  fled  and  along  the  bank  for  many  a 
mile,  harassed  in  the  difficult  ground  by  the  Hebrews 
who  know  every  yard  of  it.  At  the  fords  there  is 
dreadful  work.  Those  who  cross  at  the  highest  point 
near  Succoth  are  not  the  main  body,  but  the  two  chiefs 
Zebah  and  Zalmunna  are  among  them  and  Gideon 
takes  them  in  hand.  Away  to  the  south  Ephraim  has 
its  opportunity  and  gains  a  victory  where  the  road 
along  the  valley  of  Jordan  diverges  to  Beth-barah. 
For  days  and  nights  the  retreat  goes  on  till  the  strange 
swift  triumph  of  Israel  is  assured. 

I.  There  is  in  this  narrative  a  lesson  as  to  equip- 
ment for  the  battle  of  Hfe  and  the  service  of  God 
somewhat  like  that  which  we  found  in  the  story  of 
Shamgar,  yet  with  points  of  difference.  We  are  re- 
minded here  of  what  may  be  done  without  wealth, 
without  the  material  apparatus  that  is  often  counted 
necessary.  The  modern  habit  is  to  make  much  of  tools 
and  outfit.  The  study  and  applications  of  science  have 
brought  in  a  fashion  of  demanding  everything  possible 
in  the  way  of  furniture,  means,  implements.  Every- 
where this  fashion  prevails,  in  the  struggle  of  commerce 
and  manufacture,  in  literature  and  art,  in  teaching  and 


vii.8-viii.2i.]  ''MIDIAN'S  EVIL  DAY."  185 

household  economy,  worst  of  all  in  church  life  and 
work.  Michael  Angelo  wrought  the  frescoes  of  the 
Sistine  chapel  with  the  ochres  he  dug  with  his  own 
hands  from  the  garden  of  the  Vatican.  Mr.  Darwin's 
great  experiments  were  conducted  with  the  rudest 
and  cheapest  furniture,  anything  a  country  house  could 
supply.  But  in  the  common  view  it  is  on  perfect  tools 
and  material  almost  everything  depends  ;  and  we  seem 
in  the  way  of  being  absolutely  mastered  by  them. 
What,  for  example,  is  the  ecclesiasticism  which  covers 
an  increasing  area  of  religious  life  ?  And  what  is  the 
parish  or  congregation  fully  organized  in  the  modern 
sense  ?  Must  we  not  call  them  elaborate  machinery 
expected  to  produce  spiritual  life  ?  There  must  be  an 
extensive  building  with  every  convenience  for  making 
worship  agreeable;  there  must  be  guilds  and  guild  rooms, 
societies  and  committees,  each  with  an  array  of  officials ; 
there  must  be  due  assignment  of  observances  to  fit 
days  and  seasons  ;  there  must  be  architecture,  music 
and  much  else.  The  ardent  soul  desiring  to  serve  God 
and  man  has  to  find  a  place  in  conjunction  with  all  this 
and  order  his  work  so  that  it  may  appear  well  in  a 
report.  To  some  these  things  may  appear  ludicrous, 
but  they  are  too  significant  of  the  drift  from  that 
simplicity  and  personal  energy  in  which  the  Church 
of  Christ  began.  We  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
great  strokes  have  been  made  by  men  who  like  Gideon 
delayed  not  for  elaborate  preparation  nor  went  back 
on  rule  and  precedent,  but  took  the  firebrands,  pitchers 
and  horns  that  could  be  got  together  on  a  hill-side. 
The  great  thing  both  in  the  secular  and  in  the  spiritual 
region  is  that  men  should  go  straight  at  the  work  which 
has  to  be  done  and  do  it  with  sagacity,  intelligence  and 
fervour  of  their  own. 


i86  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

We  look  back  to  those  few  plain  men  with  whom  lay 
the  new  life  of  the  world,  going  forth  with  the  strong 
certain  word  of  a  belief  for  which  they  could  die, 
a  truth  by  which  the  dead  could  be  revived.  Their 
equipment  was  of  the  soul.  Of  outward  means  and 
material  advantages  they  were,  one  may  say,  destitute. 
Our  methods  are  very  different.  No  doubt  in  these 
days  there  is  a  work  of  defence  which  requires  the 
finest  weapons  and  most  careful  preparation.  Yet 
even  here  no  weight  of  polished  armour  is  so  good 
for  David's  use  as  the  familiar  sling  and  stone.  And 
in  the  general  task  of  the  church,  teaching,  guiding, 
setting  forth  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  whatever  keeps 
soul  from  honest  and  hearty  touch  with  soul  is  bad. 
We  want  above  all  things  men  who  have  sanctified 
common-sense,  mother-wit,  courage  and  frank  sim- 
plicity, men  who  can  find  their  own  means  and  gain 
their  own  victories.  The  churches  that  do  not  breed 
such  are  doomed. 

2.  We  have  been  reading  a  story  of  panic  and 
defeat,  and  we  may  be  advised  to  find  in  it  a  hint  of 
the  fate  that  is  to  overtake  Christianity  when  modern 
criticism  has  finally  ordered  its  companies  and  provided 
them  with  terrifying  horns  and  torches.  Or  certain 
Christians  may  feel  that  the  illustration  fits  the  state 
of  alarm  in  which  they  are  obHged  to  live.  Is  not  the 
church  like  that  encampment  in  the  valley,  exposed  to 
the  most  terrible  and  startling  attacks  on  all  sides, 
and  in  peril  constantly  of  being  routed  by  unforeseen 
audacities,  here  of  Ingersoll,  Bakunin,  Bebel,  there  of 
Huxley  or  Renan  ?  Not  seldom  still,  though  after 
many  a  false  alarm,  the  cry  is  raised,  '^  The  church, 
the  faith — in  danger  !  " 

Once  for  all — the  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 


vii.8-viii.2i.]  ''MIDI AN' S  EVIL  DAV,"  187 

never  in  danger,  though  enemies  buzz  on  every  side 
Hke  furious  hornets.  A  confederation  of  men,  a  human 
organization  may  be  in  deadly  peril  and  may  know  that 
the  harsh  tumult  around  it  means  annihilation.  But 
no  institution  is  identical  with  the  Catholic  Church, 
much  less  with  the  kingdom  of  God.  Christians  need 
not  dread  the  honest  criticism  which  has  a  right  to 
speak,  nor  even  the  malice,  envy,  which  have  no  right 
yet  dare  to  utter  themselves.  Whether  it  be  sheer 
atheism  or  scientific  dogma  or  political  change  or 
criticism  of  the  Bible  that  makes  the  religious  world 
tremble  and  cry  out  for  fear,  in  every  case  panic  is 
unchristian  and  unworthy.  For  one  thing,  do  we  not 
frame  numerous  thoughts  and  opinions  of  our  own  and 
devise  many  forms  of  service  which  in  the  course  of 
time  we  come  to  regard  as  having  a  sacredness  equal 
to  the  doctrine  and  ordinances  of  Christ  ?  And  do  we 
not  frequently  fall  into  the  error  of  thinking  that 
the  symbols,  traditions,  outward  forms  of  a  Christian 
society  are  essential  and  as  much  to  be  contended  for 
as  the  substance  of  the  gospel  ?  Criticism  of  these  is 
dreaded  as  criticism  of  Christ,  decay  of  them  is  regarded, 
often  quite  wrongly,  as  decay  of  the  work  of  God  on 
earth.  We  forget  that  forms,  as  such,  are  on  perpetual 
trial,  and  we  forget  also  that  no  revolution  or  seeming 
disaster  can  touch  the  facts  on  which  Christianity  rests. 
The  Divine  gospel  is  eternal.  Indeed,  assailants  of  the 
right  sort  are  needed,  and  even  those  of  the  bad  sort 
have  their  use.  The  encampment  of  the  unseeing  and 
unthinking,  of  the  self-loving  and  arrogant  needs  to  be 
startled  ;  and  he  is  no  emissary  of  Satan  who  honestly 
leads  an  attack  where  men  lie  in  false  peace,  though 
he  may  be  for  his  own  part  but  a  rude  fighter.  The 
panic  indeed  sometimes  takes  a  singular  and  pathetic 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


form.  The  unexpected  enemy  breaks  in  on  the  camp 
with  blare  of  ignorant  rebuke  and  noisy  demonstration 
of  strength  and  authority.  Him  the  church  hails  as  a 
new  apostle,  at  his  feet  she  takes  her  place  with  a 
strange  unprofitable  humility  :  and  this  is  the  worst 
kind  of  disaster.  Better  far  a  serious  battle  than  such 
submission. 

3.  Without  pursuing  this  suggestion  we  pass  to 
another  raised  by  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  Ephraim. 
They  obeyed  the  call  of  Gideon  when  he  hastily  sum- 
m.oned  them  to  take  the  lower  fords  of  Jordan  within 
their  own  territory  and  prevent  the  escape  of  the 
Midianites.  To  them  it  fell  to  gain  a  great  victory, 
and  especially  to  slay  two  subordinate  chiefs,  Oreb 
and  Zeeb,  the  Crow  and  the  Wolf.  But  afterwards  they 
complained  that  they  had  not  been  called  at  first  when 
the  commander  was  gathering  his  army.  We  are  in- 
formed that  they  chode  with  him  sharply  on  this  score, 
and  it  was  only  by  his  soft  answer  which  implied  a 
Httle  flattery  that  they  were  appeased.  "  What  have  I 
now  in  comparison  with  you  ?  Is  not  the  gleaning 
of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim  better  than  the  vintage  of 
Abiezer  ?  " 

The  men  of  Ephraim  were  not  called  at  first  along 
with  Manasseh,  Zebulun,  Asher  and  NaphtaH.  True. 
But  w^hy  ?  Was  not  Gideon  aware  of  their  selfish 
indifference  ?  Did  he  not  read  their  character  ?  Did 
he  not  perceive  that  they  would  have  sullenly  refused 
to  be  led  by  a  man  of  Manasseh,  the  youngest  son  of 
Joash  of  Abiezer  ?  Only  too  well  did  the  young  chief 
know  with  whom  he  had  to  deal.  There  had  been 
fighting  already  between  Israel  and  the  Midianites. 
Did  Ephraim  help  then  ?  Nay :  but  secure  in  her 
mountains  that  tribe  sullenly  and  selfishly  held  aloof. 


vii.8-viii.  21.]  ''MIDIAN'S  EVIL  BAV:'  189 

And  now  the  complaint  is  made  when  Gideon,  once 
unknown,  is  a  victorious  hero,  the  dehverer  of  the 
Hebrew  nation. 

Do  we  not  often  see  something  hke  this  ?  There 
are  people  who  will  not  hazard  position  or  profit  in 
identifying  themselves  with  an  enterprise  while  the 
issue  is  doubtful,  but  desire  to  have  the  credit  of  con- 
nection with  it  if  it  should  succeed.  They  have  not  the 
humanity  to  associate  themselves  with  those  who  are 
fighting  in  a  good  cause  because  it  is  good.  In  fact 
they  do  not  know  what  is  good,  their  only  test  of  value 
being  success.  They  lie  by,  looking  with  half-concealed 
scorn  on  the  attempts  of  the  earnest,  sneering  at  their 
heat  either  in  secret  or  openly,  and  when  one  day  it 
becomes  clear  that  the  world  is  applauding  they  con- 
ceive a  sudden  respect  for  those  at  whom  they  scoffed. 
Now  they  will  do  what  they  can  to  help, — with 
pleasure,  with  liberality.  Why  were  they  not  sooner 
invited  ?  They  will  almost  make  a  quarrel  of  that, 
and  they  have  to  be  soothed  with  fair  speeches.  And 
people  who  are  worldly  at  heart  push  forward  in  this 
fashion  when  Christian  affairs  have  success  or  e'clai 
attached  to  them,  especially  where  religion  wears  least 
of  its  proper  air  and  has  somewhat  of  the  earthly  in 
tone  and  look.  Christ  pursued  by  the  Sanhedrin, 
despised  by  the  Roman  is  no  person  for  them  to  know. 
Let  Him  have  the  patronage  of  Constantine  or  a  de* 
Medici  and  they  are  then  assured  that  He  has  claims 
which  they  will  admit — in  theory.  More  than  that 
needs  not  be  expected  from  men  and  women  "  of  the 
world."  "  Messieurs,  surlout,  pas  de  zeleJ^  Above  all, 
no  zeal :  that  is  the  motto  of  every  Ephraim  since  time 
began.  V/ait  till  zeal  is  cooling  before  you  join  the 
righteous  cause. 


I90  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

4.  But  while  there  are  the  carnal  who  like  to  share 
the  success  of  religion  after  it  has  cooled  down  to 
their  temperature,  another  class  must  not  be  forgotten, 
those  who  in  their  selfishness  show  the  worst  kind  of 
hostility  to  the  cause  they  should  aid.  Look  at  the 
men  of  Succoth  and  Penuel.  Gideon  and  his  band 
leading  the  pursuit  of  the  Midianites  have  had  no  food 
all  night  and  are  faint  with  hunger.  At  Succoth  they 
ask  bread  in  vain.  Instead  of  help  they  get  the  taunt 
— "Are  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  now  in  thine  hand  that 
we  should  give  bread  unto  thine  army  ? "  Onward 
they  press  another  stage  up  the  hills  to  Penuel,  and 
there  also  their  request  is  refused.  Gideon  savage 
with  the  need  of  his  men  threatens  dire  punishment 
to  those  who  are  so  callous  and  cruel ;  and  when  he 
returns  victorious  his  threat  is  made  good.  With 
thorns  and  briars  of  the  wilderness  he  scourges  the 
elders  of  Succoth.  The  pride  of  Penuel  is  its  watch- 
tower,  and  that  he  demolishes,  at  the  same  time 
decimating  the  men  of  the  city. 

Penuel  and  Succoth  lay  in  the  way  between  the 
wilderness  in  which  the  Midianites  dwelt  and  the 
valleys  of  western  Palestine.  The  men  of  these  cities 
feared  that  if  they  aided  Gideon  they  would  bring  on 
themselves  the  vengeance  of  the  desert  tribes.  Yet 
where  do  we  see  the  lowest  point  of  unfaith  and 
meanness,  in  Ephraim  or  Succoth  ?  It  is  perhaps 
hard  to  say  which  are  the  least  manly  :  those  contrive 
to  join  the  conquering  host  and  snatch  the  credit  of 
victory ;  these  are  not  so  clever,  and  while  they  are 
as  eager  to  make  things  smooth  for  themselves  the 
thorns  and  briars  are  more  visibly  their  portion.  To 
share  the  honour  of  a  cause  for  which  you  have  done 
very  little  is  an  easy  thing  in  this  world,  though  an  honest 


vii.8-viii.2i.]  ''MID  I  AN' S  EVIL  DAVr  191 

man  cannot  wear  that  kind  of  laurel ;  but  as  for  Succoth 
and  Penuel,  the  poor  creatures,  who  will  not  pity 
them  ?  It  is  so  inconvenient  often  to  have  to  decide. 
They  would  temporise  if  it  were  possible — supply  the 
famished  army  with  mouldy  corn  and  raisins  at  a  high 
price,  and  do  as  much  next  time  for  the  Midianites. 
Yet  the  opportunity  for  this  kind  of  salvation  does  not 
always  come.  There  are  times  when  people  have  to 
choose  definitely  whom  they  will  serve,  and  discover  to 
their  horror  that  judgment  follows  swiftly  upon  base 
and  cowardly  choice.  And  God  is  faithful  in  making 
the  recusants  feel  the  urgency  of  moral  choice  and  the 
grip  He  has  of  them.  They  would  fain  let  the  battle 
of  truth  sweep  by  and  not  meddle  with  it.  But  some- 
thing is  forced  upon  them.  They  cannot  let  the  whole 
affair  of  salvation  alone,  but  are  driven  to  refuse 
heaven  in  the  very  act  of  trying  to  escape  hell.  And 
although  judgment  lingers,  ever  and  anon  demonstra- 
tion is  made  among  the  ranks  of  the  would-be  prudent 
that  One  on  high  judges  for  His  warriors.  It  is  not 
the  Gideon  leading  the  little  band  of  faint  but  eager 
champions  of  faith  who  punishes  the  callous  heathenism 
and  low  scorn  of  a  Succoth  and  Penuel.  The  Lord  of 
Hosts  Himself  will  vindicate  and  chasten.  "Whoso 
shall  cause  one  of  these  httle  ones  that  believe  in  Me 
to  stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him  that  a  great  millstone 
should  be  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that  he  should 
be  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea." 

5.  Yet  another  word  of  instruction  is  found  in  the 
appeal  of  Gideon  :  "  Give,  I  pray  you,  loaves  of  bread 
unto  the  people  that  follow  me,  for  they  be  faint  and 
I  am  pursuing  after  Zebah  and  Zalmunna."  Well  has 
the  expression  "Faint  yet  pursuing"  found  its  place 
as  a  proverb  of  the  religious  life.     We  are  called  to 


192  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

run  with  patience  a  race  that  needs  long  ardour  and 
strenuous  exertion.  The  goal  is  far  away,  the  ground 
is  difficult.  As  day  after  day  and  year  after  year 
demands  are  made  upon  our  faith,  our  resolution,  our 
thought,  our  devotion  to  One  who  remains  unseen  and 
on  our  confidence  in  the  future  life  it  is  no  wonder  that 
many  feel  faint  and  weary.  Often  have  we  to  pass 
through  a  region  inhabited  by  those  who  are  indifferent 
or  hostile,  careless  or  derisive.  At  many  a  door  we 
knock  and  find  no  sympathy.  We  ask  for  bread  and 
receive  a  stone  ;  and  still  the  fight  slackens  not,  still 
have  we  to  reach  forth  to  the  things  that  are  before.  But 
the  faintness  is  not  death.  In  the  most  terrible  hours 
there  is  new  life  for  our  spiritual  nature.  Refreshment 
comes  from  an  unseen  hand  when  earth  refuses  help. 
We  turn  to  Christ;  we  consider  Him  who  endured 
great  contradiction  of  sinners  against  Himself;  we 
realize  afresh  that  we  are  ensured  of  the  fulness  of  His 
redemption.  The  body  grows  faint,  but  the  soul  presses 
on ;  the  body  dies  and  has  to  be  left  behind  as  a 
worn-out  garment,  but  the  spirit  ascends  into  immortal 
youth. 

*'  On,  chariot !  on,  soul  1 
Ye  are  all  the  more  fleet. 
Be  alone  at  the  goal 
Of  the  strange  and  the  sweet  1  * 

6.  Finally  let  us  glance  at  the  fate  of  Zebah  and 
Zalmunna,  not  without  a  feeling  of  admiration  and  of 
pity  for  the  rude  ending  of  these  stately  lives. 

The  sword  of  Jehovah  and  of  Gideon  has  slain  its 
thousands.  The  vast  desert  army  has  been  scattered 
like  chaff,  in  the  flight,  at  the  fords,  by  the  rock  Oreb 
and  the  winepress  Zeeb,  all  along  the  way  by  Nobah 
and  Jogbehah,   and   finally  at   Karkor,   where   having. 


vii.8-viii.2i.]  ''MIDIAN'S  EVIL  DAY:'  193 

encamped  in  fancied  security  the  residue  is  smitten. 
Now  the  two  defeated  chiefs  are  in  the  hand  of  Gideon, 
their  mihtary  renown  completely  wrecked,  their  career 
destroyed.  To  them  the  expedition  into  Canaan  was 
part  of  the  common  business  of  leadership.  As  emirs 
of  nomadic  tribes  they  had  to  find  pasture  and  prey 
for  their  people.  No  special  antagonism  to  Jehovah, 
no  ill-will  against  Israel  more  than  other  nations  led 
them  to  cross  the  Jordan  and  scour  the  plains  of 
Palestine.  It  was  quite  in  the  natural  course  of  things 
that  Midianites  and  Amalekites  should  migrate  and 
move  towards  the  west.  And  now  the  defeat  is  crush- 
ing.    What  remains  therefore  but  to  die  ? 

We  hear  Gideon  command  his  son  Jether  to  fall 
upon  the  captive  chief?,  who  brilliant  and  stately  once 
lie  disarmed,  bound  and  helpless.  The  indignity  is  not 
to  our  mind.  We  would  have  thought  more  of  Gideon 
had  he  offered  freedom  to  these  captives  "  fallen  on 
evil  days,"  men  to  be  admired  not  hated.  But  probably 
they  do  not  desire  a  life  Vv'hich  has  in  it  no  more  of 
honour.  Only  let  the  Hebrew  leader  not  insult  them 
by  the  stroke  of  a  young  man's  sword.  The  great 
chiefs  would  die  by  a  warrior's  blow.  And  Jether 
cannot  slay  them  ;  his  hand  falters  as  he  draws  the 
sword.  These  men  who  have  ruled  their  tens  of 
thousands  have  still  the  lion  look  that  quails.  "  Rise 
thou  and  fall  upon  us,"  they  say  to  Gideon  :  "  for  as 
the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength."  And  so  they  die, 
types  of  the  greatest  earthly  powers  that  resist  the 
march  of  Divine  Providence,  overthrown  by  a  sword 
which  even  in  faulty  weak  human  hands  has  indefeasible 
sureness  and  ^di^^. 

"  As  the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength."  It  is  another 
of  the  pregnant  sayings  which  meet  us  here  and  there 

13 


194  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

even  in  the  least  meditative  parts  of  Scripture.  Yes  : 
as  a  man  is  in  character,  in  faith,  in  harmony  with  the 
will  of  God,  so  is  his  strength ;  as  he  is  in  falseness, 
injustice,  egotism  and  ignorance,  so  is  his  weakness. 
And  there  is  but  one  real  perennial  kind  of  strength. 
The  demonstration  made  by  selfish  and  godless  persons, 
though  it  shake  continents  and  devastate  nations,  is 
not  Force.  It  has  no  nerve,  no  continuance,  but  is 
mere  fury  which  decays  and  perishes.  Strength  is  the 
property  of  truth  and  truth  only ;  it  belongs  to  those 
who  are  in  union  with  eternal  reality  and  to  no  others 
in  the  universe.  Would  you  be  invincible  ?  You 
must  move  with  the  eternal  powers  of  righteousness 
and  love.  To  be  showy  in  appearance  or  terrible  in 
sound  on  the  wrong  side  with  the  futilities  of  the  world 
is  but  incipient  death. 

On  all  sides  the  application  may  be  seen.  In  the 
home  and  its  varied  incidents  of  education,  sickness, 
discipline ;  in  society  high  and  low ;  in  politics,  in 
literature.  As  the  man  or  woman  is  in  simple  allegi- 
ance to  God  and  clear  resolution  there  is  strength  to 
endure,  to  govern,  to  think  and  every  way  to  live. 
Otherwise  there  can  only  be  instability,  foolishness, 
blundering  selfishness,  a  sad  passage  to  inanition  and 
decay. 


XIV.  "^ 

GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC 
Judges  viii.  22-28. 

THE  great  victory  of  Gideon  had  this  special  signifi- 
cance, that  it  ended  the  incursions  of  the  wandering 
races  of  the  desert.  Canaan  offered  a  continual  lure  to 
the  nomads  of  the  Arabian  wilderness,  as  indeed  the 
eastern  and  southern  parts  of  Syria  do  at  the  present 
time.  The  hazard  was  that  wave  after  wave  of  Midianites 
and  Bedawin  sweeping  over  the  land  should  destroy 
agriculture  and  make  settled  national  life  and  civiliza- 
tion impossible.  And  when  Gideon  undertook  his  work 
the  risk  of  this  was  acute.  But  the  defeat  inflicted  on 
the  wild  tribes  proved  decisive.  "  Midian  was  subdued 
before  the  children  of  Israel,  and  they  lifted  up  their 
heads  no  more."  The  slaughter  that  accompanied  the 
overthrow  of  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  Oreb  and  Zeeb 
became  in  the  literature  of  Israel  a  symbol  of  the 
destruction  which  must  overtake  the  foes  of  God. 
"  Do  thou  to  thine  enemies  as  unto  Midian  " — so  runs 
the  cry  of  a  psalm — "  Make  their  nobles  like  Oreb  and 
Zeeb  :  yea,  all  their  princes  like  Zebah  and  Zalmunna, 
who  said.  Let  us  take  to  ourselves  in  possession  the 
habitations  of  God."  In  Isaiah  the  remembrance  gives 
a  touch  of  vivid  colour  to  the  oracle  of  the  coming 
Wonderful,  Prince  oi^Pcsper^-^^Die  yoke  of  his  burden 


196  THE  BOOK  OF  fUDGES. 


and  the  staff  of  his  shoulder,  the  rod  of  his  oppressor 
shall  be  broken  as  in  the  day  of  Midian."  Regarding 
the  Assyrian  also  the  same  prophet  testifies,*  "The 
Lord  of  Hosts  shall  stir  up  against  him  a  scourge  as 
in  the  slaughter  of  Midian  at  the  rock  of  Oreb."  We 
have  no  song  like  that  of  Deborah  celebrating  the 
victory,  but  a  sense  of  its  immense  importance  held 
the  mind  of  the  people,  and  by  reason  of  it  Gideon 
found  a  place  among  the  heroes  of  faith.  Doubtless 
he  had,  to  begin  with,  a  special  reason  for  taking  up 
arms  against  the  Midianitish  chiefs  that  they  had  slain 
his  two  brothers :  the  duty  of  an  avenger  of  blood  fell 
to  him.  But  this  private  vengeance  merged  in  the 
desire  to  give  his  people  freedom,  religious  as  well  as 
political,  and  it  was  Jehovah's  victory  that  he  won,  as 
he  himself  gladly  acknowledged.  We  may  see,  there- 
fore, in  the  whole  enterprise,  a  distinct  step  of  religious 
development.  Once  again  the  name  of  the  Most  High 
was  exalted  ;  once  again  the  folly  of  idol  worship  was 
contrasted  with  the  wisdom  of  serving  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  Moses.  The  tribes  moved  in  the  direc- 
tion of  national  unity  and  also  of  common  devotion  to 
their  unseen  King.  If  Gideon  had  been  a  man  of  larger 
intellect  and  knowledge  he  might  have  led  Israel  far  on 
the  way  towards  fitness  for  the  mission  it  had  never  yet 
endeavoured  to  fulfil.  But  his  powers  and  inspiration 
were  limited. 

On  his  return  from  the  campaign  the  wish  of  the 
people  was  expressed  to  Gideon  that  he  should  assume 
the  title  of  king.  The  nation  needed  a  settled  govern- 
ment, a  centre  of  authority  which  would  bind  the  tribes 
together,  and  the  Abiezrite  chief  was  now  clearly  marked 
as  a  man  fit  for  royalty.  He  was  able  to  persuade  as 
well  as  to  fight;  he  was  bold,  firm  and  prudent.     But 


viii.  22-28.]  GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC.  197 

to  the  request  that  he  should  become  king  and  found  a 
dynasty  Gideon  gave  an  absolute  refusal:  "I  will  not 
rule  over  you,  neither  shall  my  son  rule  over  you  ; 
Jehovah  shall  rule  over  you."  We  always  admire  a 
man  who  refuses  one  of  the  great  posts  of  human 
authority  or  distinction.  The  throne  of  Israel  was 
even  at  that  time  a  flattering  offer.  But  should  it  have 
been  made  ?  There  are  few  who  will  pause  in  a 
m.oment  of  high  personal  success  to  think  of  the  point 
of  morality  involved ;  yet  we  may  credit  Gideon  with 
the  belief  that  it  was  not  for  him  or  any  man  to  be 
called  king  in  Israel.  As  a  judge  he  had  partly  proved 
himself,  as  a  judge  he  had  a  Divine  call  and  a  marvel- 
lous vindication  :  that  name  he  would  accept,  not  the 
other.  One  of  the  chief  elements  of  Gideon's  character 
was  a  strong  but  not  very  spiritual  religiousness.  He 
attributed  his  success  entirely  to  God,  and  God  alone 
he  desired  the  nation  to  acknowledge  as  its  Head.  He 
would  not  even  in  appearance  stand  between  the  people 
and  their  Divine  Sovereign,  nor  with  his  will  should 
any  son  of  his  take  a  place  so  unlawful  and  dangerous. 
Along  with  his  devotion  to  God  it  is  quite  likely  that 
the  caution  of  Gideon  had  much  to  do  with  his  resolve. 
He  had  already  found  some  difficulty  in  deahng  with  the 
Ephraimites,  and  he  could  easily  foresee  that  if  he  became 
king  the  pride  of  that  large  clan  would  rise  strongly 
against  him.  If  the  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim 
was  better  than  the  whole  vintage  of  Abiezer,  as  Gideon 
had  declared,  did  it  not  follow  that  any  elder  of  the  great 
central  tribe  would  better  deserve  the  position  of  king 
than  the  youngest  son  of  Joash  of  Abiezer  ?  The  men 
of  Succoth  and  Penuel  too  had  to  be  reckoned  with. 
Before  Gideon  could  establish  himself  in  a  royal  seat 
he  would  have  to  fight  a  great  coaHtion  in  the  centre 


198  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

and  south  and  also  beyond  Jordan.  To  the  pains  of 
oppression  would  succeed  the  agony  of  civil  war. 
Unwilling  to  kindle  a  fire  which  might  burn  for  years 
and  perhaps  consume  himself,  he  refused  to  look  at  the 
proposal,  flattering  and  honourable  as  it  was. 

But  there  was  another  reason  for  his  decision  which 
may  have  had  even  more  w^eight.  Like  many  men 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  one  way,  his 
real  ambition  lay  in  a  different  direction.  We  think  of 
him  as  a  military  genius.  He  for  his  part  looked  to 
the  priestly  office  and  the  transmission  of  Divine  oracles 
as  his  proper  calling.  The  enthusiasm  with  which 
he  overthrew  the  altar  of  Baal,  built  the  new  altar  of 
Jehovah  and  offered  his  first  sacrifice  upon  it  survived 
when  the  wild  delights  of  victory  had  passed  awa}^ 
The  thrill  of  awe  and  the  strange  excitement  he  had 
felt  when  Divine  messages  came  to  him  and  signs  were 
given  in  answer  to  his  prayer  affected  him  far  more 
deeply  and  permanently  than  the  sight  of  a  flying 
enemy  and  the  pride  of  knowing  himself  victor  in  a 
great  campaign.  Neither  did  kingship  appear  much  in 
comparison  with  access  to  God,  converse  with  Him 
and  declaration  of  His  will  to  men.  Gideon  appears 
already  tired  of  war,  with  no  appetite  certainly  for 
more,  however  successful,  and  impatient  to  return  to 
the  mysterious  rites  and  sacred  privileges  of  the  altar. 
He  had  good  reason  to  acknowledge  the  power  over 
Israel's  destiny  of  the  Great  Being  Whose  spirit  had 
come  upon  him,  Whose  promises  had  been  fulfilled.  He 
desired  to  cultivate  that  intercourse  with  Heaven  which 
more  than  anything  else  gave  him  the  sense  of  dignity 
and  strength.  From  the  offer  of  a  crown  he  turned  as  if 
eager  to  don  the  robe  of  a  priest  and  listen  for  the  holy 
oracles  that  none  beside  himself  seemed  able  to  receive. 


viii.  22-28.]  GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC.  199 

It  is  notable  that  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  kings 
the  tendency  shown  by  Gideon  frequently  reappeared. 
According  to  the  law  of  later  times  the  kingly  duties 
should  have  been  entirely  separated  from  those  of  the 
priesthood.  It  came  to  be  a  dangerous  and  sacrilegious 
thing  for  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  tribes,  their  leader 
in  war,  to  touch  the  sacred  implements  or  offer  a 
sacrifice.  But  just  because  the  ideas  of  sacrifice  and 
priestly  service  were  so  fully  in  the  Jewish  mind  the 
kings,  either  when  especially  pious  or  especially  strong, 
felt  it  hard  to  refrain  from  the  forbidden  privilege. 
On  the  eve  of  a  great  battle  with  the  Philistines  Saul, 
expecting  Samuel  to  offer  the  preparatory  sacrifice 
and  inquire  of  Jehovah,  waited  seven  days  and  then 
impatient  of  delay  undertook  the  priestly  part  and 
offered  a  burnt  sacrifice.  Plis  act  was  properly  speaking 
a  confession  of  the  sovereignty  of  God ;  but  when 
Samuel  came  he  expressed  great  indignation  against 
the  king,  denounced  his  interference  with  sacred  things 
and  in  eftect  removed  him  then  and  there  from  the 
kingdom.  David  for  his  part  appears  to  have  been 
scrupulous  in  employing  the  priests  for  every  religious 
function ;  but  at  the  bringing  up  of  the  ark  from  the 
house  of  Obed-Edom  he  is  reported  to  have  led  a 
sacred  dance  before  the  Lord  and  to  have  worn  a  linen 
ephod,  that  is  a  garment  specially  reserved  for  the 
priests.  He  also  took  to  himself  the  privilege  of 
blessing  the  people  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  On  the 
division  of  the  kingdom  Jeroboam  promptly  assumed 
the  ordering  of  religion,  set  up  shrines  and  appointed 
priests  to  minister  at  them  ;  and  in  one  scene  we  find 
him  standing  by  an  altar  to  offer  incense.  The  great 
sin  of  Uzziah,  on  account  of  which  he  had  to  go  forth 
from  the  temple  a  hopeless  leper,  is  stated  in  the  second 


200  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

book  of  Chronicles  to  have  been  an  attempt  to  burn 
incense  on  the  altar.  These  are  cases  in  point;  but 
the  most  remarkable  is  that  of  Solomon.  To  be  king, 
to  build  and  equip  the  temple  and  set  in  operation 
the  whole  ritual  of  the  house  of  God  did  not  content 
that  magnificent  prince.  His  ambition  led  him  to 
assume  a  part  far  loftier  and  more  impressive  than 
fell  to  the  chief  priest  himself.  It  was  Solomon  who 
offered  the  prayer  when  the  temple  was  consecrated, 
who  pronounced  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  worshipping 
multitude  ;  and  at  his  invocation  it  was  that  '*  fire  came 
down  from  heaven  and  consumed  the  burnt  offering 
and  the  sacrifices."  This  crowning  act  of  his  Hfe,  in 
which  the  great  monarch  rose  to  the  very  highest  pitch 
of  his  ambition,  actually  claiming  and  taking  precedence 
over  all  the  house  of  Aaron,  will  serve  to  explain  the 
strange  turn  of  the  Abiezrite's  history  at  which  we 
have  now  arrived. 

'^  He  made  an  ephod  and  put  it  in  his  city,  even 
in  Ophrah."  A  strong  but  not  spiritual  religiousness, 
we  have  said,  is  the  chief  note  of  Gideon's  character. 
It  may  be  objected  that  such  a  one,  if  he  seeks  ecclesias- 
tical office,  does  so  unworthily ;  but  to  say  so  is  an 
uncharitable  error.  It  is  not  the  devout  temper  alone 
that  finds  attraction  in  the  ministry  of  sacred  things  ; 
nor  should  a  love  of  place  and  power  be  named  as 
the  only  other  leading  motive.  One  who  is  not  devout 
may  in  all  sincerity  covet  the  honour  of  standing  for 
God  before  the  congregation,  leading  the  people  in 
worship  and  interpreting  the  sacred  oracles.  A  vulgar 
explanation  of  human  desire  is  often  a  false  one;  it 
is  so  here.  The  ecclesiastic  may  show  few  tokens  of 
the  spiritual  temper,  the  other-worldliness,  the  glov^'.ij 
and  simple  truth  we  rightly  account  to  be  the  proper 


viii.  22-28.]  GIDEON  THE  ECCI ESIASTIC.  201 

marks  of  a  Christian  ministry ;  yet  he  may  by  his 
own  reckoning  have  obeyed  a  clear  call.  His  function 
in  this  case  is  to  maintain  order  and  administer  out- 
ward rites  with  dignity  and  care — a  limited  range  of 
duty  indeed,  but  not  without  utility,  especially  when 
there  are  inferior  and  less  conscientious  men  in  office 
not  far  away.  He  does  not  advance  faith,  but  accord- 
ing to  his  power  he  maintains  it. 

But  the  ecclesiastic  must  have  the  ephod.  The  man 
who  feels  the  dignity  of  religion  more  than  its  humane 
simplicity,  realizing  it  as  a  great  movement  of  absorbing 
interest,  will  naturally  have  regard  to  the  means  of 
increasing  dignity  and  making  the  movement  impressive. 
Gideon  calls  upon  the  people  for  the  golden  spoils 
taken  from  the  Midianites,  nose-rings,  earrings  and 
the  like,  and  they  willingly  respond.  It  is  easy  to 
obtain  gifts  for  the  outward  glory  of  religion,  and  a 
golden  image  is  soon  to  be  seen  within  a  house  of 
Jehovah  on  the  hill  at  Ophrah.  Whatever  form  it  had, 
this  figure  was  to  Gideon  no  idol  but  a  symbol  or  sign 
of  Jehovah's  presence  among  the  people,  and  by  means 
of  it,  in  one  or  other  of  the  ways  used  at  the  time, 
as  for  example  by  casting  lots  from  within  it,  appeal 
was  made  to  God  with  the  utmost  respect  and  con- 
fidence. When  it  is  supposed  that  Gideon  fell  away 
from  his  first  faith  in  making  this  image  the  error 
lies  in  overestimating  his  spirituality  at  the  earlier 
stage.  We  must  not  think  that  at  any  time  the  use 
of  a  symbolic  image  would  have  seemed  wrong  to  him. 
It  was  not  against  images  but  against  worship  of  false 
and  impure  gods  that  his  zeal  was  at  first  directed. 
The  sacred  pelt  was  an  object  of  detestation  because 
it  was  a  symbol  of  Astarte. 

In  some  way  Nve  cannot   explain    the  whole  life  of 


202  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Gideon  appears  as  quite  separate  from  the  religious 
ordinances  maintained  before  the  ark,  and  at  the  same 
time  quite  apart  from  that  Divine  rule  which  forbade 
the  making  and  worship  of  graven  images.  Either  he 
did  not  know  the  second  commandment,  or  he  under- 
stood it  only  as  forbidding  the  use  of  an  image  of  any 
creature  and  the  worship  of  a  creature  by  means  of 
an  image.  We  know  that  the  cherubim  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies  were  symbolic  of  the  perfections  of  creation, 
and  through  them  the  greatness  of  the  Unseen  God 
was  realized.  So  it  was  with  Gideon's  ephod  or  image, 
which  was  however  used  in  seeking  oracles.  He  acted 
at  Ophrah  as  priest  of  the  true  God.  The  sacrifices 
he  offered  were  to  Jehovah.  People  came  from  all 
the  northern  tribes  to  bow  at  his  altar  and  receive 
divine  intimations  through  him.  The  southern  tribes 
had  Gilgal  and  Shiloh.  Here  at  Ophrah  was  a  service 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  not  perhaps  intended  to  compete 
with  the  other  shrines,  yet  virtually  depriving  them  of 
their  fame.  For  the  expression  is  used  that  all  Israel 
went  a  whoring  after  the  ephod. 

But  while  we  try  to  understand  we  are  not  to  miss 
the  warning  which  comes  home  to  us  through  this 
chapter  of  religious  history.  Pure  and,  for  the  time, 
even  elevated  in  the  motive,  Gideon's  attempt  at  priest- 
craft led  to  his  fall.  For  a  while  we  see  the  hero 
acting  as  judge  at  Ophrah  and  presiding  with  dignity 
at  the  altar.  His  best  wisdom  is  at  the  service  of  the 
people  and  he  is  ready  to  offer  for  them  at  new  moon 
or  harvest  the  animals  they  desire  to  consecrate  and 
consume  in  the  sacred  feast.  In  a  spirit  of  real  faith 
and  no  doubt  with  much  sagacity  he  submits  their 
inquiries  to  the  test  of  the  ephod.  But  "  the  thing 
became  a  snare  to  Gideon  and  his  house,"  perhaps  in 


viii.  22-28.]  GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC.  205 

the  way  of  bringing  in  riches  and  creating  the  desire 
for  more.  Those  who  appHed  to  him  as  a  revealer 
brought  gifts  with  them.  Gradually  as  wealth  increased 
among  the  people  the  value  of  the  donations  would 
increase,  and  he  who  began  as  a  disinterested  patriot 
may  have  degenerated  into  a  somewhat  avaricious  man 
who  made  a  trade  of  religion.  On  this  point  we  have, 
however,  no  information.  It  is  mere  surmise  depend- 
ing upon  observation  of  the  way  things  are  apt  to  go 
amongst  ourselves. 

Reviewing  the  story  of  Gideon's  life  we  find  this 
clear  lesson,  that  within  certain  limits  he  who  trusts 
and  obeys  God  has  a  quite  irresistible  efficiency.  This 
man  had,  as  we  have  seen,  his  limitations,  very  con- 
siderable. \  As  a  religious  leader,  prophet  or  priest,  he 
was  far  from  competent ;  there  is  no  indication  that  he 
was  able  to  teach  Israel  a  single  Divine  doctrine,  and 
as  to  the  purity  and  mercy,  the  righteousness  and  love 
of  God,  his  knowledge  was  rudimentary.  In  the  remote 
villages  of  the  Abiezrites  the  tradition  of  Jehovah's 
name  and  power  remained,  but  in  the  confusion  of  the 
times  there  was  no  education  of  children  in  the  will  of 
God;  the  Law  was  practically  unknown.  From  Shechem 
where  Baal-Berith  was  worshipped  the  influence  of  a 
degrading  idolatry  had  spread,  obliterating  every  reli- 
gious idea  except  the  barest  elements  of  the  old  faith. 
Doing  his  very  best  to  understand  God,  Gideon  never 
saw  what  religion  in  our  sense  means.  His  sacrifices 
were  appeals  to  a  Power  dimly  felt  through  nature 
and  in  the  greater  epochs  of  the  national  history, 
chastising  now  and  now  friendly  and  beneficent. 

Yet,  seriously  limited  as  he  was,  Gideon  when  he 
had  once  laid  hold  of  the  fact  that  he  was  called  by  the 
unseen  God  to  deliver  Israel  went  on  step  by  step  to 


204  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

the  great  victory  which  made  the  tribes  free.  His 
responsibility  to  his  fellow-Israehtes  became  clear  along 
with  his  sense  of  the  demand  made  upon  him  by  God. 
He  felt  himself  like  the  wind,  like  the  lightning,  like 
the  dew,  an  agent  or  instrument  of  the  Most  High, 
bound  to  do  His  part  in  the  course  of  things.  Kis  will 
was  enlisted  in  the  Dirine  purpose.  This  work,  this 
deliverance  of  Israel  was  to  be  effected  by  him  and  ne 
other.  He  had  the  elemental  powers  with  him,  in  hinE 
The  immense  armies  of  Midian  could  not  stand  in  his 
way.  He  was,  as  it  were,  a  storm  that  must  hurl  them 
back  into  the  wilderness  defeated  and  broken. 

Now  this  is  the  very  conception  of  life  which  we  in 
our  far  wider  knowledge  are  apt  to  miss,  which  never- 
theless it  is  our  chief  business  to  grasp  and  carry  into 
practice.  You  stand  there,  a  man  instructed  in  a 
thousand  things  of  which  Gideon  was  ignorant,  in- 
structed especially  in  the  nature  and  will  of  God  Whom 
Christ  has  revealed.  It  is  your  privilege  to  take  a 
broad  survey  of  human  life,  of  duty,  to  look  beyond 
the  present  to  the  eternal  future  with  its  infinite  possi- 
bilities of  gain  and  loss.  But  the  danger  is  that  year 
after  year  all  thought  and  effort  shall  be  on  your  owi 
account,  that  with  each  changing  wind  of  circumstanc< 
you  change  your  purpose,  that  you  never  understand 
God's  demand  nor  find  the  true  use  of  knowledge,  will 
and  life  in  fulfilling  that.  Have  you  a  Divine  task  to 
effect  ?  You  doubt  it.  Where  is  anything  that  can 
be  called  a  commission  of  God  ?  You  look  this  way 
and  that  for  a  little,  then  give  up  the  quest.  This  year 
finds  you  without  enthusiasm,  without  devotion  even 
as  you  have  been  in  other  years.  So  life  ebbs  away 
and  is  lost  in  the  wide  flat  sands  of  the  secular  and 
trivial,  and  the  T^\  never  becomes  part  of  the  strong 


viii.  22-28.]  GIDEON    THE  ECCLESIASTIC.  205 

ocean  current  of  Divine  purpose.  We  pity  or  deride 
some  who,  with  little  knowledge  and  in  many  errors 
alike  of  heart  and  head,  were  yet  men  as  many  of  us 
may  not  claim  to  be,  alive  to  the  fact  of  God  and  their 
own  share  in  Him.  But  they  were  so  limited,  those 
Hebrews,  you  say,  a  mere  horde  of  shepherds  and 
husbandmen  ;  their  story  is  too  poor,  too  chaotic  to  have 
any  lesson  for  us.  And  in  sheer  incapacity  to  read  the 
meaning  of  the  tale  you  turn  from  this  Book  of  Judges, 
as  from  a  barbarian  myth,  less  interesting  than  Homer, 
of  no  more  application  to  yourself  than  the  legends  of 
the  Round  Table.  Yet,  all  the  while,  the  one  supreme 
lesson  for  a  man  to  read  and  take  home  to  himself  is 
written  throughout  the  book  in  bold  and  living  cha- 
racters— that  only  when  life  is  realized  as  a  vocation  is 
it  worth  living.  God  may  be  faintly  known,  His  will 
but  rudely  interpreted ;  yet  the  mere  understanding 
that  He  gives  life  and  rewards  effort  is  an  inspiration. 
And  when  His  life-giving  call  ceases  to  stir  and  guide, 
there  can  be  for  the  man,  the  nation,  only  irresolution 
and  weakness. 

A  century  ago  Englishmen  were  as  little  devout  as 
they  are  to-day ;  they  were  even  less  spiritual,  less 
moved  to  fine  issues.  They  had  their  scepticisms  too, 
their  rough  ignorant  prejudices,  their  giant  errors  and 
perversities.  "  We  have  gained  vastly/'  as  Professor 
Seeley  says,  "  in  breadth  of  view,  intelligence  and 
refinement.  Probably  what  we  threw  aside  could  not 
be  retained  ;  what  we  adopted  was  forced  upon  us  by 
the  age.  Nevertheless,  we  had  formerly  what  T  may 
call  a  national  discipline,  which  formed  a  firm,  strongly- 
marked  national  character.  We  have  now  only 
materials,  which  may  be  of  the  first  quality,  but  have 
not    been    worked   up.      We    have    everything   except 


2o6  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

lecided  views  and  steadfast  purpose — everything  in 
short  except  character."  Yes  :  the  sense  of  the  nation's 
caUing  has  decayed,  and  with  it  the  nation's  strength. 
In  leaders  and  followers  alike  purpose  fades  as  faith 
evaporates,  and  we  are  faithless  because  we  attempt 
nothing  noble  under  the  eye  and  sceptre  of  the  King. 

You  live,  let  us  say,  among  those  who  doubt  God, 
doubt  whether  there  is  any  redemption,  whether  the 
whole  Christian  gospel  and  hope  are  not  in  the  air, 
dreams,  possibilities,  rather  than  facts  of  the  Eternal 
Will.  The  storm-wind  blows  and  you  hear  its  roaring : 
that  is  palpable  fact,  divine  or  cosmic.  Its  errand  will 
be  accomplished.  Great  rivers  flow,  great  currents 
sweep  through  the  ocean.  Their  mighty  urgency  who 
can  doubt  ?  But  the  spiritual  who  can  believe  ?  You 
do  not  feel  in  the  sphere  of  the  moral,  of  the  spiritual 
the  wind  that  makes  no  sound,  the  current  that  rolls 
silently  charged  with  sublime  energies,  effecting  a  vast 
and  wonderful  purpose.  Yet  here  are  the  great  facts ; 
and  we  must  find  our  part  in  that  spiritual  urgency,  do 
our  duty  there,  or  lose  all.  We  must  launch  out  on 
the  mighty  stream  of  redemption  or  never  reach  eternal 
light,  for  all  else  moves  down  to  death.  Christ  Himself 
is  to  be  victorious  in  us.  The  glory  of  our  life  is  that 
we  can  be  irresistible  in  the  region  of  our  duty,  irresis- 
tible in  conflict  with  the  evil,  the  selfishness,  the  false- 
hood given  us  to  overthrow.  To  realize  that  is  to  Hve. 
The  rest  is  all  mere  experiment,  getting  ready  for  the  task 
of  existence,  making  armour,  preparing  food,  otherwise, 
at  the  worst,  a  winter's  morning  before  inglorious  death. 

One  other  thing  observe,  that  underlying  Gideon's 
desire  to  fill  the  office  of  priest  there  was  a  dull  percep- 
tion of  the  highest  function  of  one  man  in  relation  to 
others.     It  appears  to  the  common  mind  a  great  thinff 


,iii.  22-28.]         GIDEON  THE  ECCLESIASTIC.  207 


to  rule,  to  direct  secular  affairs,  to  have  the  command 
of  armies  and  the  power  of  filling  offices  and  conferring 
dignities ;  and  no  doubt  to  one  who  desires  to  serve 
his  generation  well,  royalty,  political  power,  even 
municipal  office  offer  many  excellent  opportunities. 
But  set  kingship  on  this  side,  kingship  concerned 
with  the  temporal  and  earthly,  or  at  best  humane 
aspects  of  life,  and  on  the  other  side  priesthood  of 
the  true  kind  which  has  to  do  with  the  spiritual,  by 
which  God  is  revealed  to  man  and  the  holy  ardour 
and  divine  aspirations  of  the  human  will  are  sustained 
— and  there  can  be  no  question  which  is  the  more  impor- 
tant. A  clever  strong  man  may  be  a  ruler.  It  needs  a 
good  man,  a  pious  man,  a  man  of  heavenly  power  and 
insight  to  be  in  any  right  sense  a  priest.  I  speak  not 
of  the  kind  of  priest  Gideon  turned  out,  nor  of  a  Jewish 
priest,  nor  of  any  one  who  in  modern  times  professes 
to  be  in  that  succession,  but  of  one  who  really  stands 
between  God  and  men,  bearing  the  sorrows  of  his  kind, 
their  trials,  doubts,  cries  and  prayers  on  his  heart  and 
presenting  them  to  God,  interpreting  to  the  weary  and 
sad  and  troubled  the  messages  of  heaven.  In  this  sense 
Christ  is  the  one  True  Priest,  the  eternal  and  only 
sufficient  High  Priest.  And  in  this  sense  it  is  possible 
for  every  Christian  to  hold  towards  those  less  enlight- 
ened and  less  decided  in  their  faith  the  priestly  part. 
Now  in  a  dim  way  the  priestly  function  presented 
itself  to  Gideon  and  allured  him.  Sufficient  for  it  he 
was  not,  and  his  ephod  became  a  snare.  Neither  could 
he  grasp  the  wisdom  of  heaven  nor  understand  the 
needs  of  men.  In  his  hands  the  sacred  art  did  not 
prosper,  he  became  content  with  the  appearance  and 
the  gain.  It  is  so  with  many  who  take  the  name 
of  pries t«      In  truth  on  one  side  the  term  and  all  i 


2o8  THE    BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Stands  for  must  be  confessed  full  of  danger  to  him  set 
apart  and  those  who  separate  him.  Here  as  pointedly 
as  anywhere  must  it  be  affirmed,  "  Whatsoever  is  not 
of  faith  is  sin."  There  must  be  a  mastering  sense  of 
God's  calling  on  the  side  of  him  who  ministers,  and  on 
the  side  of  the  people  recognition  of  a  message,  an 
example  coming  to  them  through  this  brother  of  theirs 
who  speaks  what  he  has  received  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  offers  a  personal  living  word,  a  personal  testimony. 
Here,  be  it  called  what  it  may,  is  priesthood  after  the 
pattern  of  Christ's,  true  and  beneficent ;  and  apart 
from  this,  priesthood  may  too  easil}^  become,  as  many 
have  affirmed,  a  horrible  imposture  and  baleful  lie. 
Christianity  brings  the  whole  to  a  point  in  every  life. 
God's  calling,  spiritual,  complete,  comes  to  each  soul 
in  its  place,  and  the  holy  oil  is  for  every  head.  The 
father,  mother,  the  employer  and  the  workman,  the 
surgeon,  writer,  lawyer — everywhere  and  in  all  posts, 
just  as  men  and  women  are  living  out  God's  demand 
upon  them — these  are  His  priests,  ministrants  of  the 
hearth  and  the  shop,  the  factory  and  the  office,  by  the 
cradle  and  the  sick-bed,  wherever  the  multitudinous 
epic  of  life  goes  forward.  Here  is  the  common  and 
withal  the  hoHest  calling  and  office.  That  one  dwelhng 
with  God  in  righteousness  and  love  introduce  others 
into  the  sanctuary,  declare  as  a  thing  he  knows  the 
will  of  the  Eternal,  uplift  the  feebleness  of  faith  and 
revive  the  heart  of  love — this  is  the  highest  task  on 
earth,  the  grandest  of  heaven.  Of  such  it  may  be  said, 
"Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy 
nation,  a  peculiar  people  that  ye  should  show  forth  the 
praises  of  Him  Who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness 
into  His  marvellous  light." 


XV. 

ABIMELECH  AND  fOTHAM. 
Judges  viii.  29  — ix.  57. 

THE  history  we  are  tracing  moves  from  man  to 
man  ;  the  personal  influence  of  the  hero  is  every- 
thing while  it  lasts  and  confusion  follows  on  his  death. 
Gideon  appears  as  one  of  the  most  successful  Hebrew 
judges  in  maintaining  order.  While  he  was  there  in 
Ophrah  religion  and  government  had  a  centre  ^'and 
the  country  was  in  quietness  forty  years."  A  man  far 
from  perfect  but  capable  of  mastery  held  the  reins  and 
gave  forth  judgment  with  an  authority  none  could 
challenge.  His  burial  in  the  family  sepulchre  in 
Ophrah  is  specially  recorded  as  if  it  had  been  a 
great  national  tribute  to  his  heroic  power  and  skilful 
administration. 

The  funeral  over,  discord  began.  A  rightful  ruler 
there  was  not.  Among  the  claimants  of  power  there 
was  no  man  of  power.  Gideon  left  many  sons,  but  not 
one  of  them  could  take  his  place.  The  confederation 
of  cities  half  Hebrew,  half  Canaanite  with  Shechem  at 
their  head,  of  which  we  have  already  heard,  held  in 
check  while  Gideon  lived,  now  began  to  control  the 
politics  of  the  tribes.  By  using  the  influence  of  this 
league  a  usurper  who  had  no  title  whatever  to  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people  succeeded  in  exalting  himself. 

14 


210  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

The  old  town  of  Shechem  situated  in  the  beautiful 
valley  between  Ebal  and  Gerizim  had  long  been  a 
centre  of  Baal  worship  and  of  Canaanite  intrigue, 
though  nominally  one  of  the  cities  of  refuge  and  there- 
fore specially  sacred.  Very  likely  the  mixed  population 
of  this  important  town,  jealous  of  the  position  gained 
by  the  hill-village  of  Ophrah,  were  ready  to  receive 
with  favour  any  proposals  that  seemed  to  offer  them 
distinction.  And  when  Abimelech,  son  of  Gideon  by 
a  slave  woman  of  their  town,  went  among  them  with 
ambitious  and  crafty  suggestions  they  were  easily 
persuaded  to  help  him.  The  desire  for  a  king  which 
Gideon  had  promptly  set  aside  lingered  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,  and  by  means  of  it  Abimelech  was  able  to 
compass  his  personal  ends.  First,  however,  he  had 
to  discredit  others  who  stood  in  his  way.  There  at 
Ophrah  were  the  sons  and  grandsons  of  Gideon,  three- 
score and  ten  of  them  according  to  the  tradition,  who 
were  supposed  to  be  bent  on  lording  it  over  the  tribes. 
Was  it  a  thing  to  be  thought  of  that  the  land  should 
have  seventy  kings  ?  Surely  one  would  be  better,  less 
of  an  incubus  at  least,  more  likely  to  do  the  ruling  well. 
Men  of  Shechem  too  would  not  be  governed  from 
Ophrah  if  they  had  any  spirit.  He,  Abimelech,  was 
their  townsman,  their  bone  and  flesh.  He  confidently 
looked  for  their  support. 

We  cannot  tell  how  far  there  was  reason  for  saying 
that  the  family  of  Gideon  were  aiming  at  an  aristocracy. 
They  may  have  had  some  vague  purpose  of  the  kind. 
The  suggestion,  at  all  events,  was  cunning  and  had  its 
effect.  The  people  of  Shechem  had  stored  considerable 
treasure  in  the  sanctuary  of  Baal,  and  by  public  vote 
seventy  pieces  of  silver  were  paid  out  of  it  to  Abimelech. 
The  money  was  at  once  used  by  him  in  hiring  a  band  of 


viii.  29-ix.  5 7.]    ABIMELE CH  AND  JO THAM.  2 1 1 

men  like  himself,  unscrupulous,  ready  for  any  desperate 
or  bloody  deed.  With  these  he  marched  on  Ophrah 
and  surprising  his  brothers  in  the  house  or  palace  of 
Jerubbaal  speedily  put  out  of  his  way  their  dangerous 
rivalry.  With  the  exception  of  Jotham,  who  had 
observed  the  band  approaching  and  concealed  himself, 
the  whole  house  of  Gideon  was  dragged  to  execution. 
On  one  stone,  perhaps  the  very  rock  on  which  the  altar 
of  Baal  once  stood,  the  threescore  and  nine  were 
barbarously  slain. 

A  villainous  coup  d'etat  this.  From  Gideon  over- 
throwing Baal  and  proclaiming  Jehovah  to  Abimelech 
bringing  up  Baal  again  with  hideous  fratricide — it  is 
a  wretched  turn  of  things.  Gideon  had  to  some  extent 
prepared  the  way  for  a  man  far  inferior  to  himself,  as 
all  do  who  are  not  utterly  faithful  to  their  light  and 
calling ;  but  he  never  imagined  there  could  be  so  quick 
and  shocking  a  revival  of  barbarism.  Yet  the  ephod- 
dealing,  the  polygamy,  the  immorality  into  which  he 
lapsed  were  bound  to  come  to  fruit.  The  man  who 
once  was  a  pure  Hebrew  patriot  begat  a  half-heathen 
son  to  undo  his  own  work.  As  for  the  Shechemites, 
they  knew  quite  well  to  what  end  they  had  voted  those 
seventy  pieces  of  silver;  and  the  general  opinion  seems 
to  have  been  that  the  town  had  its  money's  worth,  a  life 
for  each  piece  and,  to  boot,  a  king  reeking  with  blood 
and  shame.  Surely  it  was  a  well-spent  grant.  Their 
confederation,  their  god  had  triumphed.  They  made 
Abimelech  king  by  the  oak  of  the  pillar  that  was  in 
Shechem. 

It  is  the  success  of  the  adventurer  we  have  here, 
that  common  event.  Abimelech  is  the  oriental  adven- 
turer and  uses  the  methods  of  another  age  than  ours ; 
yet  we  have  our  examples,  and  if  they  are  less  scan- 


212  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

dalous  in  some  ways,  if  they  are  apart  from  bloodshed 
and  savagery,  they  are  still  sujfficiently  trying  to  those 
who  cherish  the  faith  of  divine  justice  and  providence. 
How  many  have  to  see  with  amazement  the  adventurer 
triumph  by  means  of  seventy  pieces  of  silver  from  the 
house  of  Baal  or  even  from  a  holier  treasury.  He  in  a 
selfish  and  cruel  game  seems  to  have  speedy  and  com- 
plete success  denied  to  the  best  and  purest  cause.  Fight- 
ing for  his  own  hand  in  wicked  or  contemptuous  hardness 
and  arrogant  conceit,  he  finds  support,  applause,  an 
open  way.  Being  no  prophet  he  has  honour  in  his 
own  town.  He  knows  the  art  of  the  stealthy  insinua- 
tion, the  lying  promise  and  the  flattering  murmur; 
he  has  skill  to  make  the  favour  of  one  leading  person 
a  step  to  securing  another.  When  a  few  important 
people  have  been  hoodwinked,  he  too  becomes  impor- 
tant and  "  success  "  is  assured. 

The  Bible,  most  entirely  honest  of  books,  frankly 
sets  before  us  this  adventurer,  Abimelech,  in  the  midst 
of  the  judges  of  Israel,  as  low  a  specimen  of  "  success  " 
as  need  be  looked  for;  and  we  trace  the  well-known 
means  by  which  such  a  person  is  promoted.  *'  His 
mother's  brethren  spake  of  him  in  the  ears  of  all  the 
men  of  Shechem."  That  there  was  little  to  say,  that 
he  was  a  man  of  no  character  mattered  not  the  least. 
The  thing  was  to  create  an  impression  so  that  Abime- 
lech's  scheme  might  be  introduced  and  forced.  So  far 
he  could  intrigue  and  then,  the  first  steps  gained,  he 
could  mount.  But  there  was  in  him  none  of  the 
mental  power  that  afterwards  marked  Jehu,  none  of 
the  charm  that  survives  with  the  name  of  Absalom.  It 
was  on  jealousy,  pride,  ambition  he  played  as  the  most 
jealous,  proud  and  ambitious  ;  yet  for  three  years  the 
Hebrews  of  the  league,  blinded  by  the  desire  to  have 


viii.  29-ix.  57.]     ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  213 

their  nation  like  others,  suffered  him  to  bear  the  name 
of  king. 

And  by  this  sovereignty  the  Israelites  who  acknow- 
ledged it  were  doubly  and  trebly  compromised.  Not 
only  did  they  accept  a  man  without  a  record,  they 
believed  in  one  who  was  an  enemy  to  his  country's 
religion,  one  therefore  quite  ready  to  trample  upon  its 
liberty.  This  is  really  the  beginning  of  a  worse  op- 
pression than  that  of  Midian  or  of  Jabin.  It  shows 
on  the  part  of  Hebrews  generally  as  well  as  those 
who  tamely  submitted  to  Abimelech's  lordship  a  most 
abject  state  of  mind.  After  the  bloody  work  at  Ophrah 
the  tribes  should  have  rejected  the  fratricide  with 
loathing  and  risen  like  one  man  to  suppress  him. 
If  the  Baal-worshippers  of  Shechem  would  make  him 
king  there  ought  to  have  been  a  cause  of  war  against 
them  in  which  every  good  man  and  true  should  have 
taken  the  field.  We  look  in  vain  for  any  such  opposi- 
tion to  the  usurper.  Now  that  he  is  crowned,  Manasseh, 
Ephraim  and  the  North  regard  him  complacently.  It 
is  the  world  all  over.  How  can  we  wonder  at  this 
when  we  know  with  what  acclamations  kings  scarcely 
more  reputable  than  he  have  been  greeted  in  modern 
times  ?  Crowds  gather  and  shout,  fires  of  welcome 
blaze  ;  there  is  joy  as  if  the  millennium  had  come.  It 
is  a  king  crowned,  restored,  his  country's  head,  de- 
fender of  the  faith.     Vain  is  the  hope,  pathetic  the  joy. 

There  is  no  man  of  spirit  to  oppose  Abimelech  in  the 
field.  The  duped  nation  must  drink  its  cup  of  misrule 
and  blood.  But  one  appears  of  keen  wit,  apt  and 
trenchant  in  speech.  At  least  the  tribes  shall  hear 
what  one  sound  mind  thinks  of  this  coronation.  Jotham, 
as  we  saw,  escaped  the  slaughter  at  Ophrah.  In  the 
rear  of  the  murderer  he  has  crossed  the  hills  and  he 


214  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

will  now  utter  his  warning,  whether  men  hear  or 
whether  they  forbear.  There  is  a  crowd  assembled  for 
worship  or  deliberation  at  the  oak  of  the  pillar.  Sud- 
denly a  voice  is  heard  ringing  clearly  out  between  hill 
and  hill,  and  the  people  looking  up  recognize  Jotham 
who  from  a  spur  of  rock  on  the  side  of  Gerizim 
demands  their  audience.  "  Hearken  unto  me,"  he 
cries,  "ye  men  of  Shechem,  that  God  may  hearken 
unto  you."  Then  in  his  parable  of  the  olive,  the  fig- 
tree,  the  vine  and  the  bramble,  he  pronounces  judgment 
and  prophecy.  The  bramble  is  exalted  to  be  king, 
but  on  these  terms,  that  the  trees  come  and  put  their 
trust  under  its  shadow;  ^'but  if  not,  then  let  fire  come 
out  of  the  bramble  and  devour  the  cedars  of  Lebanon." 
It  is  a  piece  of  satire  of  the  first  order,  brief,  stinging, 
true.  The  craving  for  a  king  is  lashed  and  then  the 
wonderful  choice  of  a  ruler.  Jotham  speaks  as  an 
anarchist,  one  might  say,  but  with  God  understood 
as  the  centre  of  law  and  order.  It  is  a  vision  of  the 
Theocracy  taking  shape  from  a  keen  and  original  mind. 
He  figures  men  as  trees  growing  independently,  duti- 
fully. And  do  trees  need  a  king  ?  Are  they  not  set 
in  their  natural  freedom  each  to  yield  fruit  as  best  it 
can  after  its  kind  ?  Men  of  Shechem,  Hebrews  all, 
if  they  will  only  attend  to  their  proper  duties  and  do 
quiet  work  as  God  wills,  appear  to  Jotham  to  need  a 
king  no  more  than  the  trees.  Under  the  benign  course 
of  nature,  sunshine  and  rain,  wind  and  dew,  the  trees 
have  all  the  restraint  they  need,  all  the  liberty  that  is 
good  for  them.  So  men  under  the  providence  of  God, 
adoring  and  obeying  Him,  have  the  best  control,  the 
only  needful  control,  and  with  it  liberty.  Are  they 
not  fools  then  to  go  about  seeking  a  tyrant  to  rule 
them,  they  who  should  be  as  cedars  of  Lebanon,  wil' 


viii.  29  ix.  57-]     ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  215 

lows  by  the  watercourses,  they  who  are  made  for 
simple  freedom  and  spontaneous  duty  ?  It  is  some- 
thing new  in  Israel  this  keen  intellectualizing ;  but 
the  fable,  pointed  as  it  is,  teaches  nothing  for  the 
occasion.  Jotham  is  a  man  full  of  wit  and  of  intelli- 
gence, but  he  has  no  practicable  scheme  of  govern- 
ment, nothing  definite  to  oppose  to  the  mistake  of 
the  hour.  He  is  all  for  the  ideal,  but  the  time  and 
the  people  are  unripe  for  the  ideal.  We  see  the 
same  contrast  in  our  own  day;  both  in  politics  and 
the  church  the  incisive  critic  discrediting  subordination 
altogether  fails  to  secure  his  age.  Men  are  not  trees. 
They  are  made  to  obey  and  trust.  A  hero  or  one  who 
seems  a  hero  is  ever  welcome,  and  he  who  skilfully 
imitates  the  roar  of  the  lion  may  easily  have  a  following, 
while  Jotham,  intensely  sincere,  highly  gifted,  a  true- 
sighted  man,  finds  none  to  mind  him. 

Again  the  fable  is  directed  against  Abimelech.  What 
was  this  man  to  whom  Shechem  had  sworn  fealty  ? 
An  olive,  a  fig-tree,  fruitful  and  therefore  to  be  sought 
after  ?  Was  he  a  vine  capable  of  rising  on  popular 
support  to  useful  and  honourable  service  ?  Not  he. 
It  was  the  bramble  they  had  chosen,  the  poor  grovelling 
jagged  thorn-bush  that  tears  the  flesh,  whose  end  is  to 
feed  the  fire  of  the  oven.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  good 
or  heroic  deed  Abimelech  had  done  ?  He  was  simply 
a  contemptible  upstart,  without  moral  principle,  as 
ready  to  wound  as  to  flatter,  and  they  who  chose  him 
for  king  would  too  soon  find  their  error.  Now  that 
he  had  done  something,  what  was  it?  There  were 
IsraeHtes  among  the  crowd  that  shouted  in  his  honour. 
Had  they  already  forgotten  the  services  of  Gideon  so 
completely  as  to  fall  down  before  a  wretch  red-handed 
from  the  murder  of  their  hero's  sons  ?     Such  a  begin- 


2i6  THE  BOOK  OF  /UDGES, 

ning  showed  the  character  of  the  man  they  trusted, 
and  the  same  fire  which  had  issued  from  the  bramble 
at  Ophrah  would  flame  out  upon  themselves.  This 
was  but  the  beginning;  soon  there  would  be  war  to 
the  knife  between  Abimelech  and  Shechem. 

We  find  instruction  in  the  parable  by  regarding  the 
answers  put  into  the  mouth  of  this  tree  and  that  when 
they  are  invited  to  wave  to  and  fro  over  the  others. 
There  are  honours  which  are  dearly  purchased,  high 
positions  which  cannot  be  assumed  without  renouncing 
the  true  end  and  fruition  of  life.  One  for  example 
who  is  quietly  and  with  increasing  efficiency  doing  his 
part  in  a  sphere  to  which  he  is  adapted  must  set  aside 
the  gains  of  long  discipline  if  he  is  to  become  a  social 
leader.  He  can  do  good  where  he  is.  Not  so  certain 
is  it  that  he  will  be  able  to  serve  his  fellows  well  in 
public  office.  It  is  one  thing  to  enjoy  the  deference 
paid  to  a  leader  while  the  first  enthusiasm  on  his  behalf 
continues,  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  satisfy  all  the 
demands  made  as  years  go  on  and  new  needs  arise. 
When  any  one  is  invited  to  take  a  position  of  authority 
he  is  bound  to  consider  carefully  his  own  aptitudes. 
He  needs  also  to  consider  those  who  are  to  be  subjects 
or  constituents  and  make  sure  that  they  are  of  the  kind 
his  rule  will  fit.  The  olive  looks  at  the  cedar  and  the 
terebinth  and  the  palm.  Will  they  admit  his  sove- 
reignty by-and-by  though  now  they  vote  for  it  ?  Men 
are  taken  with  the  candidate  who  makes  a  good  im- 
pression by  emphasizing  what  will  please  and  sup- 
pressing opinions  that  may  provoke  dissent.  When 
they  know  him,  how  will  it  be  ?  When  criticism 
begins,  will  the  oHve  not  be  despised  for  its  gnarled 
stem,  its  crooked  branches  and  dusky  foliage  ? 

The  fable  does  not  make  the  refusal  of  olive  and  fig- 


viii.  29-ix.  57-]     ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  217 

tree  and  vine  rest  on  the  comfort  they  enjoy  in  the 
humbler  place.  That  would  be  a  mean  and  dishonour- 
able reason  for  refusing  to  serve.  Men  who  decline 
public  office  because  they  love  an  easy  life  find  here  no 
countenance.  It  is  for  the  sake  of  its  fatness,  the  oil 
it  yields,  grateful  to  God  and  man  in  sacrifice  and 
anointing,  that  the  olive-tree  declines.  The  fig-tree 
has  its  sweetness  and  the  vine  its  grapes  to  yield. 
And  so  men  despising  self-indulgence  and  comfort 
may  be  justified  in  putting  aside  a  call  to  office.  The 
fruit  of  personal  character  developed  in  humble  unob- 
trusive natural  life  is  seen  to  be  better  than  the  more 
showy  clusters  forced  by  public  demands.  Yet,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  one  will  not  leave  his  books,  another 
his  scientific  hobbies,  a  third  his  fireside,  a  fourth  his 
manufactory,  in  order  to  take  his  place  among  the 
magistrates  of  a  city  or  the  legislators  of  a  land  the 
danger  of  bramble  supremacy  is  near.  Next  a  wretched 
Abimelech  will  appear ;  and  what  can  be  done  but  set 
him  on  high  and  put  the  reins  in  his  hand  ?  Unques- 
tionably the  claims  of  church  or  country  deserve  most 
careful  weighing,  and  even  if  there  is  a  risk  that 
character  may  lose  its  tender  bloom  the  sacrifice  must 
be  made  in  obedience  to  an  urgent  call.  For  a  time,  at 
least,  the  need  of  society  at  large  must  rule  the  loyal 
life. 

The  fable  of  Jotham,  in  so  far  as  it  flings  sarcasm  at 
the  persons  who  desire  eminence  for  the  sake  of  it  and 
not  for  the  good  they  will  be  able  to  do,  is  an  example 
of  that  wisdom  which  is  as  unpopular  now  as  ever  it 
has  been  in  human  history,  and  the  moral  needs  every 
day  to  be  kept  full  in  view.  It  is  desire  for  distinction 
and  DOwer.  the  opportunity  of  waving  to  and  fro  over 
tne  trees,  me  ngni  10  use  tnis  nanaie  ana  tnat  to  their 


2i8  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

names  that  will  be  found  to  make  many  eager,  not  the 
distinct  wish  to  accomplish  something  which  the  times 
and  the  country  need.  Those  who  solicit  public  office 
are  far  too  often  selfish,  not  self-denying,  and  even  in 
the  church  there  is  much  vain  ambition.  But  people 
will  have  it  so.  The  crowd  follows  him  who  is  eager 
for  the  suffrages  of  the  crowd  and  showers  flattery  and 
promises  as  he  goes.  Men  are  lifted  into  places  they 
cannot  fill,  and  after  keeping  their  seats  unsteadily  for 
a  time  they  have  to  disappear  into  ignominy. 

We  pass  here,  however,  beyond  the  meaning  Jotham 
desired  to  convey,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  he  would  have 
justified  every  one  in  refusing  to  reign.  And  certainly 
if  society  could  be  held  together  and  guided  without 
the  exaltation  of  one  over  another,  by  the  fidelity  of 
each  to  his  own  task  and  brotherly  feeling  between 
man  and  man,  there  would  be  a  far  better  state  of 
things.  But  while  the  fable  expounds  a  God-impelled 
anarchy,  the  ideal  state  of  mankind,  our  modern  schemes, 
omitting  God,  repudiating  the  least  notion  of  a  super- 
natural fount  of  Hfe,  turn  upon  themselves  in  hopeless 
confusion.  When  the  divine  law  rules  every  life  we 
shall  not  need  organised  governments ;  until  then  entire 
freedom  in  the  world  is  but  a  name  for  unchaining 
every  lust  that  degrades  and  darkens  the  life  of  man. 
Far  away,  as  a  hope  of  the  redeemed  and  Christ-led 
race,  there  shines  the  ideal  Theocracy  revealed  to  the 
greater  minds  of  the  Hebrew  people,  often  re-stated, 
never  realised.  But  at  present  men  need  a  visible 
centre  of  authority.  There  must  be  administrators 
and  executors  of  law,  there  must  be  government  and 
legislation  till  Christ  reigns  in  every  heart.  The  move- 
ment which  resulted  in  Abimelech's  sovereignty  was 
the    blundering  start  in   a  series   of  experiments   the 


viii.  29-ix.  57.]     ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  219 

Hebrew  tribes  were  bound  to  make,  as  other  nations 
had  to  make  them.  We  are  still  engaged  in  the  search 
for  a  right  system  of  social  order,  and  while  fearers 
of  God  acknowledge  the  ideal  towards  which  they 
labour,  they  must  endeavour  to  secure  by  personal  toil 
and  devotion,  by  unwearying  interest  in  affairs  the  most 
effective  form  of  liberal  yet  firm  government. 

Abimelech  maintained  himself  in  power  for  three 
years,  no  doubt  amid  growing  dissatisfaction.  Then 
came  the  outburst  which  Jotham  had  predicted.  An 
evil  spirit,  really  present  from  the  first,  rose  between 
Abimelech  and  the  men  of  Shechem.  The  bramble 
began  to  tear  themselves,  a  thing  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  endure.  Once  rooted  however  it  was  not 
easily  got  rid  of.  One  who  knows  the  evil  arts  of 
betrayal  is  quick  to  suspect  treachery,  the  false  person 
knows  the  ways  of  the  false  and  how  to  fight  them  with 
their  own  weapons.  A  man  of  high  character  may  be 
made  powerless  by  the  disclosure  of  some  true  words 
he  has  spoken  ;  but  when  Shechem  would  be  rid  of 
Abimelech  it  has  to  employ  brigands  and  organise 
robbery.  "They  set  Hers  in  wait  for  him  in  the 
mountains  who  robbed  all  that  came  along  that  way," 
the  merchants  no  doubt  to  whom  Abimelech  had  given 
a  safe  conduct.  Shechem  in  fact  became  the  head- 
quarters of  a  band  of  highwaymen  whose  crimes  were 
condoned  or  even  approved  in  the  hope  that  one  day 
the  despot  would  be  taken  and  an  end  put  to  his 
misrule. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  our  attention  is  directed 
to  these  vulgar  incidents,  as  they  may  be  called,  which 
were  taking  place  in  and  about  Shechem.  Why  has  the 
historian  not  chosen  to  tell  us  of  other  regions  where 
some  fear  of  God  survived  and  guided  the  lives  of  men, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 


instead  of  giving  in  detail  the  intrigues  and  treacheries 
of  Abimelech  and  his  rebellious  subjects  ?  Would  we 
not  much  rather  hear  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  worship, 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  its  development,  of  men  and 
women  who  in  the  obscurity  of  private  life  were  main- 
taining the  true  faith  and  serving  God  in  sincerity  ?  The 
answer  must  be  partly  that  the  contents  of  the  history 
are  determined  by  the  traditions  which  survived  when 
it  was  compiled.  Doings  like  these  at  Shechem  keep 
their  place  in  the  memory  of  men  not  because  they  are 
important  but  because  they  impress  themselves  on 
popular  feeling.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  ex- 
periments which  finally  in  Samuel's  time  issued  in  the 
kingship  of  Saul,  and  although  Abimelech  was,  properly 
speaking,  not  a  Hebrew  and  certainly  was  no  wor- 
shipper of  Jehovah,  yet  the  fact  that  he  was  king  for 
a  time  gave  importance  to  everything  about  him. 
Hence  we  have  the  full  account  of  his  rise  and  fall. 
And  yet  the  narrative  before  us  has  its  value  from 
the  religious  point  of  view.  It  shows  the  disastrous 
result  of  that  coalition  with  idolaters  into  which  the 
Hebrews  about  Shec  .em  entered,  it  illustrates  the 
danger  of  co-partnery  with  the  worldly  on  worldly  terms. 
The  confederacy  of  which  Shechem  was  the  centre 
is  a  type  of  many  in  which  people  who  should  be 
guided  always  by  religion  bind  themselves  for  business 
or  political  ends  with  those  who  have  no  fear  of  God 
before  their  eyes.  Constantly  it  happens  in  such 
cases  that  the  interests  of  the  commercial  enterprise 
or  of  the  party  are  considered  before  the  law  of  righ- 
teousness. The  business  affair  must  be  made  to 
succeed  at  all  hazards.  Christian  people  as  partners 
of  companies  are  committed  to  schemes  which  imply 
Sabbath  work,  sharp  practices  in  buying  and  seUing, 


viii.  29-ix.  57.]     ABJMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  221 

hollow  promises  in  prospectuses  and  advertisements, 
grinding  of  the  faces  of  the  poor,  miserable  squabbles 
about  wages  that  should  never  occur.  In  politics  the  like 
is  frequently  seen.  Things  are  done  against  the  true 
instincts  of  many  members  of  a  party;  but  they,  for 
the  sake  of  the  party,  must  be  silent  or  even  take  their 
places  on  platforms  and  write  in  periodicals  defending 
what  in  their  souls  and  consciences  they  know  to  be 
wrong.  The  modern  Baal-Berith  is  a  tyrannical  god, 
ruins  the  morals  of  many  a  worshipper  and  destroys 
the  peace  of  many  a  circle.  Perhaps  Christian  people 
will  by-and-by  become  careful  in  regard  to  the  schemes 
they  join  and  the  zeal  with  which  they  fling  themselves 
into  party  strife.  It  is  high  time  they  did.  Even 
distinguished  and  pious  leaders  are  unsafe  guides  when 
popular  cries  have  to  be  gratified ;  and  if  the  principles 
of  Christianity  are  set  aside  by  a  government  every 
Christian  church  and  every  Christian  voice  should 
protest,  come  of  parties  what  may.  Or  rather,  the 
party  of  Christ,  which  is  always  in  the  van,  ought  to 
have  our  complete  allegiance.  Conservatism  is  some- 
times right.  Liberalism  is  sometimes  right.  But  to 
bow  down  to  any  Baal  of  the  League  is  a  shameful 
thing  for  a  professed  servant  of  the  King  of  kings. 

Against  Abimelech  the  adventurer  there  arose  another 
of  the  same  stamp,  Gaal  son  of  Ebed,  that  is  the 
Abhorredy  son  of  a  slave.  In  him  the  men  of  Shechem 
put  their  confidence  such  as  it  was.  At  the  festival 
of  vintage  there  was  a  demonstration  of  a  truly  bar- 
barous sort.  High  carousal  was  held  in  the  temple 
of  Baal.  There  were  loud  curses  of  Abimelech  and 
Gaal  made  a  speech.  His  argument  was  that  this 
Abimelech,  though  his  mother  belonged  to  Shechem, 
was  yet  also  the  son  of  Baal's  adversary,  far  too  much 


222  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

of  a  Hebrew  to  govern  Canaanites  and  good  servants 
of  Baal.  Shechemites  should  have  a  true  Shechemite 
to  rule  them.  Would  to  Baal,  he  cried,  this  people 
were  under  my  hand,  then  would  I  remove  Abimelech. 
His  speech,  no  doubt,  was  received  with  great  applause, 
and  there  and  then  he  challenged  the  absent  king. 

Zebul,  prefect  of  the  cit}',  who  was  present,  heard  all 
this  with  anger.  He  was  of  Abimelech's  party  still  and 
immediately  informed  his  chief,  who  lost  no  time  in 
marching  on  Shechem  to  suppress  the  revolt.  Accord- 
ing to  a  common  plan  of  warfare  he  divided  his  troops 
into  four  companies  and  in  the  early  morning  these 
crept  towards  the  city,  one  by  a  track  across  the 
mountains,  another  down  the  valley  from  the  west, 
the  third  by  way  of  the  Diviners'  Oak,  the  fourth 
perhaps  marching  from  the  plain  of  Mamre  by  way  of 
Jacob's  well.  The  first  engagement  drove  the  Shechem- 
ites into  their  city,  and  on  the  following  day  the  place 
was  taken,  sacked  and  destroyed.  Some  distance  from 
Shechem,  probably  up  the  valley  to  the  west,  stood  a 
tower  or  sanctuary  of  Baal  around  which  a  consider- 
able village  had  gathered.  The  people  there,  seeing 
the  fate  of  the  lower  town,  betook  themselves  to  the 
tower  and  shut  themselves  up  within  it.  But  Abimelech 
ordered  his  men  to  provide  themselves  with  branches 
of  trees,  which  were  piled  against  the  door  of  the 
temple  and  set  on  fire,  and  all  within  were  smothered 
or  burned  to  the  number  of  a  thousand. 

At  Thebez,  another  of  the  confederate  cities,  the 
pretender  met  his  death.  In  the  siege  of  the  tower 
which  stood  within  the  walls  of  Thebez  the  horrible 
expedient  of  burning  was  again  attempted.  Abimelech 
directing  the  operations  had  pressed  close  to  the  door 
when   a   woman   cast    an   upper   millstone   from    the 


viii.29-ix.  57-]      ABIMELECH  AND  JOTHAM.  223 

parapet  with  so  true  an  aim  as  to  break  his  skull.  So 
ended  the  first  experiment  in  the  direction  of  monarchy ; 
so  also  God  requited  the  wickedness  of  Abimelech. 

One  turns  from  these  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  cruelty 
with  loathing.  Yet  they  show  what  human  nature 
is,  and  how  human  history  would  shape  itself  apart 
from  the  faith  and  obedience  of  God.  We  are  met  by 
obvious  warnings;  but  so  often  does  the  evidence  of 
divine  judgment  seem  to  fail,  so  often  do  the  wicked 
prosper  that  it  is  from  another  source  than  observation 
of  the  order  of  things  in  this  world  we  must  obtain  the 
necessary  impulse  to  higher  Hfe.  It  is  only  as  we  wait 
on  the  guidance  and  obey  the  impulses  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  that  we  shall  move  towards  the  justice  and 
brotherhood  of  a  better  age.  And  those  who  have 
received  the  light  and  found  the  will  of  the  Spirit  must 
not  slacken  their  efforts  on  behalf  of  religion.  Gideon 
did  good  service  in  his  day,  yet  failing  in  faithfulness 
he  left  the  nation  scarcely  more  earnest,  his  own  family 
scarcely  instructed.  Let  us  not  think  that  religion  can 
take  care  of  itself  Heavenly  justice  and  truth  are 
committed  to  us.  The  Christ-life  generous,  pure, 
holy  must  be  commended  by  us  if  it  is  to  rule  the 
world.  The  persuasion  that  mankind  is  to  be  saved 
in  and  by  the  earthly  survives,  and  against  that  most 
obstinate  of  all  delusions  we  are  to  stand  in  constant 
resolute  protest,  counting  every  needful  sacrifice  our 
simple  duty,  our  highest  glory.  The  task  of  the  faith- 
ful is  no  easier  to-day  than  it  was  a  thousand  years 
ago.  Men  and  women  can  be  treacherous  still  with 
heathen  cruelty  and  falseness ;  they  can  be  vile  still 
with  heathen  vileness,  though  wearing  the  air  of  the 
highest  civilization.  If  ever  the  people  of  God  had 
a  work  to  do  in  the  world  they  have  it  now. 


XVI. 

CILEAD  AND  ITS  CHIEF, 
Judges  x.  i — xi.  II. 

THE  scene  of  the  history  shifts  now  to  the  east  of 
Jordan,  and  we  learn  first  of  the  influence  which 
the  region  called  Gilead  was  coming  to  have  in  Hebrew 
development  from  the  brief  notice  of  a  chief  named  Jair 
who  held  the  position  of  judge  for  twenty-two  years. 
Tola,  a  man  of  Issachar,  succeeded  Abimelech,  and 
Jair  followed  Tola.  In  the  Book  of  Numbers  we  are 
informed  that  the  children  of  Machir  son  of  Manasseh 
went  to  Gilead  and  took  it  and  dispossessed  the 
Amorites  which  were  therein ;  and  Moses  gave  Gilead 
unto  Machir  the  son  of  Manasseh.  It  is  added  that 
Jair  the  son  or  descendant  of  Manasseh  went  and  took 
the  towns  of  Gilead  and  called  them  Havvoth-jair ; 
and  in  this  statement  the  Book  of  Numbers  anticipates 
the  history  of  the  judges. 

Gilead  is  described  by  modern  travellers  as  one  of 
the  most  varied  districts  of  Palestine.  The  region  is 
mountainous  and  its  peaks  rise  to  three  and  even  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  trough  of  the  Jordan.  The 
southern  part  is  beautiful  and  fertile,  watered  by  the 
Jabbok  and  other  streams  that  flow  westward  from 
the  hills.  *'  The  valle3^s  green  with  corn,  the  streams 
fringed  with  oleander,  the  magnificent  screens  of  yellow- 


X.  i-xi.  II.]  G I  LEAD  AND  ITS   CHIEF.  225 

green  and  russet  foliage  which  cover  the  steep  slopes 
present  a  scene  of  quiet  beauty,  of  chequered  light  and 
shade  of  uneastern  aspect  which  makes  Mount  Gilead 
a  veritable  land  of  promise."  "  No  one,"  says  another 
writer,  "  can  fairly  judge  of  Israel's  heritage  who  has 
not  seen  the  exuberance  of  Gilead  as  well  as  the  hard 
rocks  of  Judaea  which  only  yield  their  abundance  to 
reward  constant  toil  and  care."  In  Gilead  the  rivers 
flow  in  summer  as  well  as  in  winter,  and  they  are  filled 
with  fishes  and  fresh-water  shells.  While  in  Western 
Palestine  the  soil  is  insufficient  now  to  support  a  large 
population,  beyond  Jordan  improved  cultivation  alone 
is  needed  to  make  the  whole  district  a  garden. 

To  the  north  and  east  of  Gilead  lie  Bashan  and  that 
extraordinary  volcanic  region  called  the  Argob  or  the 
Lejah  where  the  Havvoth-jair  or  towns  of  Jair  were 
situated.  The  traveller  who  approaches  this  singular 
district  from  the  north  sees  it  rising  abruptly  from  the 
plain,  the  edge  of  it  like  a  rampart  about  twenty  feet 
high.  It  is  of  a  rude  oval  shape,  some  twenty  miles 
long  from  north  to  south,  and  fifteen  in  breadth,  and 
is  simply  a  mass  of  dark  jagged  rocks,  with  clefts 
between  in  which  were  built  not  a  few  cities  and 
villages.  The  whole  of  this  Argob  or  Stony  Land, 
Jephthah's  land  of  Tob,  is  a  natural  fortification,  a 
sanctuary  open  only  to  those  who  have  the  secret  of 
the  perilous  paths  that  wind  along  savage  cliff  and 
deep  defile.  One  who  established  himself  here  might 
soon  acquire  the  fame  and  authority  of  a  chief,  and 
Jair,  acknowledged  by  the  Manassites  as  their  judge, 
extended  his  power  and  influence  among  the  Gadites 
and  Reubenites  farther  south. 

But  plenty  of  corn  and  wine  and  oil  and  the  advan- 
tage of  a  natural  fortress  which  might  have  been  held 

15 


226  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

against  any  foe  did  not  avail  the  Hebrews  when  they 
were  corrupted  by  idolatry.  In  the  land  of  Gilead  and 
Bashan  they  became  a  hardy  and  vigorous  race,  and 
yet  when  they  gave  themselves  up  to  the  influence 
of  the  Syrians,  Sidonians,  Ammonites  and  Moabites, 
forsaking  the  Lord  and  serving  the  gods  of  these 
peoples,  disaster  overtook  them.  The  Ammonites  were 
ever  on  the  watch,  and  now,  stronger  than  for  centuries 
in  consequence  of  the  defeat  of  Midian  and  Amalek  by 
Gideon,  they  fell  on  the  Hebrews  of  the  east,  subdued 
them  and  even  crossed  Jordan  and  fought  with  the 
southern  tribes  so  that  Israel  was  sore  distressed. 

We  have  found  reason  to  suppose  that  during  the 
many  turmoils  of  the  north  the  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Simeon  and  to  some  extent  Ephraim  were  pleased  to 
dwell  secure  in  their  own  domains,  giving  little  help 
to  their  kinsfolk.  Deborah  and  Barak  got  no  troops 
from  the  south,  and  it  was  with  a  grudge  Ephraim 
joined  in  the  pursuit  of  Midian.  Now  the  time  has 
come  for  the  harvest  of  selfish  content.  Supposing 
the  people  of  Judah  to  have  been  specially  engaged 
with  religion  and  the  arranging  of  worship — that  did 
not  justify  their  neglect  of  the  political  troubles  of  the 
north.  It  was  a  poor  religion  then,  as  it  is  a  poor 
religion  now,  that  could  exist  apart  from  national  well- 
being  and  patriotic  duty.  Brotherhood  must  be  realised 
in  the  nation  as  well  as  in  the  church,  and  piety  must 
fulfil  itself  through  patriotism  as  well  as  in  other  ways. 

No  doubt  the  duties  we  owe  to  each  other  and  to 
the  nation  of  which  we  form  a  part  are  imposed  by 
natural  conditions  which  have  arisen  in  the  course  of 
history,  and  some  may  think  that  the  natural  should 
give  way  to  the  spiritual.  They  may  see  the  interests 
of  a  kingdom   of  this  world    as    actually  opposed  to 


X.  i-xi.  II.]  GILEAD  AND  ITS   CHIEF,  227 

the  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  apostles  of 
Christ,  however,  did  not  set  the  human  and  divine  in 
contrast,  as  if  God  in  His  providence  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  making  of  a  nation.  *'  The  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God,"  says  St.  Paul  in  writing  to 
the  Romans;  and  again  in  his  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
^'  I  exhort  that  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions, 
thanksgivings  be  made  for  all  men  :  for  kings  and  all 
that  are  in  high  place,  that  we  may  lead  a  tranquil  and 
quiet  life  in  all  godliness  and  gravity."  To  the  same 
effect  St.  Peter  says,  "  Be  subject  to  e^^iry  ordinance 
of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake."  Natural  and  secular 
enough  were  the  authorities  to  which  submission  was 
thus  enjoined.  The  policy  of  Rome  was  of  the  earth 
earthy.  The  wars  it  waged,  the  intrigues  that  went 
on  for  power  savoured  of  the  most  carnal  ambition. 
Yet  as  members  of  the  commonwealth  Christians  were 
to  submit  to  the  Roman  magistrates  and  intercede 
with  God  on  their  behalf,  observing  closely  and  intelli- 
gently all  that  went  on,  taking  due  part  in  affairs.  No 
room  was  to  be  given  for  the  notion  that  the  Christian 
society  meant  a  new  political  centre.  In  our  own  times 
there  is  a  duty  which  many  never  understand,  or  which 
they  easily  imagine  is  being  fulfilled  for  them.  Let 
rehgious  people  be  assured  that  generous  and  intelligent 
patriotism  is  demanded  of  them  and  attention  to  the 
political  business  of  the  time.  Those  who  are  careless 
will  find,  as  did  the  people  of  Judah,  that  in  neglecting 
the  purity  of  government  and  turning  a  deaf  ear  to 
cries  for  justice,  they  are  exposing  their  country  to 
disaster  and  their  religion  to  reproach. 

We  are  told  that  the  Israelites  of  Gilead  worshipped 
the  gods  of  the  Phoenicians  and  Syrians,  of  the  Moabites 
and  of  the  Ammonites.     Whatever  religious  rites  took 


228  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

their  fancy  they  were  ready  to  adopt.  This  will  be  to 
their  credit  in  some  quarters  as  a  mark  of  openness  of 
mind,  intelligence  and  taste.  They  were  not  bigoted; 
other  men's  ways  in  religion  and  civilization  were  not 
rejected  as  beneath  their  regard.  The  argument  is  too 
familiar  to  be  traced  more  fully.  Briefly  it  may  be 
said  that  if  catholicity  could  save  a  race  Israel  should 
rarely  have  been  in  trouble,  and  certainly  not  at  this 
time.  One  name  by  which  the  Hebrews  knew  God 
was  El  or  Elohtm,  When  they  found  among  the  gods 
of  the  Sidonians  one  called  El,  the  careless-minded 
supposed  that  there  could  be  no  harm  in  joining  in 
his  worship.  Then  came  the  notion  that  the  other 
divinities  of  the  Phoenician  Pantheon,  such  as  Melcarth, 
Dagon,  Derketo,  might  be  adored  as  well.  Very  likely 
they  found  zeal  and  excitement  in  the  alien  religious 
gatherings  which  their  own  had  lost.  So  they  slipped 
into  practical  heathenism. 

And  the  process  goes  on  among  ourselves.  Through 
the  principles  that  culture  means  artistic  freedom  and 
that  worship  is  a  form  of  art  we  arrive  at  taste  or 
liking  as  the  chief  test.  Intensity  of  feeling  is  craved 
and  religion  must  satisfy  that  or  be  despised.  It  is  the 
very  error  that  led  Hebrews  to  the  feasts  of  Astarte 
and  Adonis,  and  whither  it  tends  we  can  see  in  the  old 
history.  Turning  from  the  strong  earnest  gospel  which 
grasps  intellect  and  will  to  shows  and  ceremonies  that 
please  the  eye,  or  even  to  music  refined  and  devotional 
that  stirs  and  thrills  the  feeHngs,  we  decline  from  the 
reality  of  religion.  Moreover  a  serious  danger  threatens 
us  in  the  far  too  common  teaching  which  makes  little  of 
truth  everything  of  charity.  Christ  was  most  charitable, 
but  it  is  through  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  truth 
He  offers  freedom.     He  is  our  King  by  His  witness- 


X.  i-xi.ii.]  GILEAD  AND  ITS  CHIEF,  229 

bearing  not  to  charity  but  to  truth.  Those  who  are 
anxious  to  keep  us  from  bigotry  and  tell  us  that  meek- 
ness, gentleness  and  love  are  more  than  doctrine 
mislead  the  mind  of  the  age.  Truth  in  regard  to  God 
and  His  covenant  is  the  only  foundation  on  which  life 
can  be  securely  built,  and  without  right  thinking  there 
cannot  be  right  living.  A  man  may  be  amiable,  humble, 
patient  and  kind  though  he  has  no  doctrinal  belief 
and  his  religion  is  of  the  purely  emotional  sort ;  but  it 
is  the  truth  believed  by  previous  generations,  fought 
and  suffered  for  by  stronger  men,  not  his  own  gratifi- 
cation of  taste  that  keeps  him  in  the  right  way.  And 
when  the  influence  of  that  truth  decays  there  will 
remain  no  anchorage,  neither  compass  nor  chart  for  the 
vo^^age.  He  will  be  like  a  wave  of  the  sea  driven  of 
the  wind  and  tossed. 

Again,  the  religious  so  far  as  they  have  wisdom  and 
strength  are  required  to  be  pioneers,  which  they  can 
never  be  in  following  fancy  or  taste.  Here  nothing  but 
strenuous  thought,  patient  faithful  obedience  can  avail. 
Hebrew  history  is  the  story  of  a  pioneer  people  and 
every  lapse  from  fideUty  was  serious,  the  future  of 
humanity  being  at  stake.  Each  Christian  society  and 
believer  has  work  of  the  same  kind  not  less  important, 
and  failures  due  to  intellectual  sloth  and  moral  levity 
are  as  dishonourable  as  they  are  hurtful  to  the  human 
race.  Some  of  our  heretics  now  are  more  serious  than 
Christians,  and  they  give  thought  and  will  more 
earnestly  to  the  opinions  they  try  to  propagate.  While 
the  professed  servants  of  Christ,  who  should  be  march- 
ing in  the  van,  are  amusing  themselves  with  the 
accessories  of  religion,  the  resolute  socialist  or  nihilist 
reasoning  and  speaking  with  the  heat  of  conviction 
leads  the  masses  where  he  will. 


\ 


230  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

The  Ammonite  oppression  made  the  Hebrews  feel 
keenly  the  uselessness  of  heathenism.  Baal  and  Mel- 
carth  had  been  thought  of  as  real  divinities,  exercising 
power  in  some  region  or  other  of  earth  or  heaven, 
and  Israel's  had  been  an  easy  backsliding.  Idolatry 
did  not  appear  as  darkness  to  people  who  had  never 
been  fully  in  the  light.  But  when  trouble  came  and 
help  was  sorely  needed  they  began  to  see  that  the 
Baalim  were  nothing.  What  could  these  idols  do  for 
men  oppressed  and  at  their  wits'  end  ?  Religion  was  of 
no  avail  unless  it  brought  an  assurance  of  One  Whose 
strong  hand  could  reach  from  land  to  land,  Whose 
grace  and  favour  could  revive  sad  and  troubled  souls. 
Heathenism  was  found  utterly  barren,  and  Israel 
turned  to  Jehovah  the  God  of  its  fathers.  "  We  have 
sinned  against  Thee  even  because  we  have  forsaken 
our  God  and  have  served  the  Baalim." 

Those  who  now  fall  away  from  faith  are  in  worse 
case  by  far  than  Israel.  They  have  no  thought  of 
a  real  power  that  can  befriend  them.  It  is  to  mere 
abstractions  they  have  given  the  divine  name.  In  sin 
and  sorrow  alike  they  remain  with  ideas  only,  with 
bare  terms  of  speculation  in  which  there  is  no  life,  no 
strength,  no  hope  for  the  moral  nature.  They  are 
men  and  have  to  live ;  but  with  the  living  God  they 
have  entirely  broken.  In  trouble  they  can  only  call  on 
the  Abyss  or  the  Immensities,  and  there  is  no  way 
of  repentance  though  they  seek  it  carefully  with  tears. 
At  heart  therefore  they  are  pessimists  without  resource. 
Sadness  deep  and  deadly  ever  waits  upon  such  unbelief, 
and  our  religion  to-day  suffers  the  gloom  because  it  is 
infected  by  the  uncertainties  and  denials  of  an  agnosti- 
cism at  once  positive  and  confused. 

Another  paganism,  that  of  gathering  and  doing  in 


X.  i-xi.  II.]  GILEAD  AND  ITS  CHIEF.  231 

the  world-sphere,  is  constantly  beside  us,  drawing 
multitudes  from  fidelity  to  Christ  as  Baal-worship 
drew  Israel  from  Jehovah,  and  it  is  equally  barren  in 
the  sharp  experiences  of  humanity.  Earthly  things 
venerated  in  the  ardour  of  business  and  the  pursuit  of 
social  distinction  appear  as  impressive  realities  only 
while  the  soul  sleeps.  Let  it  be  aroused  by  some 
overturn  of  the  usual,  one  of  those  floods  that  sweep 
suddenly  down  on  the  cities  which  fill  the  valley  of  life, 
and  there  is  a  quick  patlietic  confession  of  the  truth. 
The  soul  needs  help  now,  and  its  help  must  come  from 
the  Eternal  Spirit.  We  must  have  done  with  mere 
saying  of  prayers  and  begin  to  pray.  We  must  find 
access  if  access  is  to  be  had  to  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  on  Whose  mercy  we  depend  to  redeem  Xi% 
from  bondage  and  fear.  Sad  therefore  is  it  for  those 
who  having  never  learned  to  seek  the  throne  of  divine 
succour  are  swept  by  the  wild  deluge  from  their  temples 
and  their  gods.  It  is  a  cry  of  despair  they  raise  amid 
the  swelling  torrent.  You  who  now  by  the  sacred 
oracles  and  the  mediation  of  Christ  can  come  into  the 
fellowship  of  eternal  life  be  earnest  and  eager  in  the 
cultivation^  of  your  faith.  The  true  religion  of  God 
which  avails  the  soul  in  its  extremity  is  not  to  be  had 
in  a  moment,  when  suddenly  its  help  is  needed.  That 
confidence  which  has  been  established  in  the  mind  by 
serious  thought,  by  the  habit  of  prayer  and  reliance 
on  divine  wisdom  can  alone  bring  help  when  the 
foundations  of  the  earthly  are  destroyed. 

To  Israel  troubled  and  contrite  came  as  on  previous 
occasions  a  prophetic  message ;  and  it  was  spoken  by 
one  of  those  incisive  ironic  preachers  who  were  born 
from  time  to  time  among  this  strangely  heathen, 
strangely  believing  people.     It  is  in  terms  of  earnest 


232  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

remonstrance  he  speaks,  at  first  almost  going  the 
length  of  declaring  that  there  is  no  hope  for  the 
rebellious  and  ungrateful  tribes.  They  found  it  an 
easy  thing  to  turn  from  their  Divine  King  to  the  gods 
they  chose  to  worship.  Now  they  perhaps  expect  as 
easy  a  recovery  of  His  favour.  But  healing  must  begin 
with  deeper  wounding,  and  salvation  with  much  keener 
anxiety.  This  prophet  knows  the  need  for  utter  seri- 
ousness of  soul.  As  he  loves  and  yearns  over  his 
country-folk  he  must  so  deal  with  them  ;  it  is  God's 
way,  the  only  way  to  save.  Most  irrationally,  against 
all  sound  principles  of  judgment  they  had  abandoned 
the  Living  One,  the  Eternal  to  worship  hideous  idols 
like  Moloch  and  Dagon.  It  was  wicked  because  it  was 
wilfully  stupid  and  perverse.  And  Jehovah  says,  *^I 
will  save  you  no  more.  Go  and  cry  unto  the  gods 
which  ye  have  chosen ;  let  them  save  you  in  the  day 
of  your  distress."  The  rebuke  is  stinging.  The  preacher 
makes  the  people  feel  the  wretched  insufficiency  of 
their  hope  in  the  false,  and  the  great  strong  pressure 
upon  them  of  the  Almighty,  Whom,  even  in  neglect, 
they  cannot  escape.  We  are  pointed  forward  to  the 
terrible  pathos  of  Jeremiah : — "  Who  shall  have  pity 
upon  thee,  O  Jerusalem  ?  or  who  shall  bemoan  thee  ? 
or  who  shall  turn  aside  to  ask  of  thy  welfare  ?  Thou 
hast  rejected  me,  saith  the  Lord,  thou  art  gone  back- 
ward :  therefore  have  I  stretched  out  my  hand  against 
thee,  and  destroyed  thee  :  I  am  weary  with  repenting." 
And  notice  to  what  state  of  mind  the  Hebrews  were 
brought.  Renewing  their  confession  they  said,  *'  Do 
thou  unto  us  whatsoever  seemeth  good  unto  Thee." 
They  would  be  content  to  suffer  now  at  the  hand  of 
God  whatever  He  chose  to  inflict  on  them.  They  them- 
selves would  have  exacted  heavy  tribute  of  a  subject 


X.  i-xi.  II.]  GILEAD  AND  ITS   CHIEF.  233 

people  that  had  rebelled  and  came  suing  for  pardon. 
Perhaps  they  would  have  slain  every  tenth  man. 
Jehovah  might  appoint  retribution  of  the  same  kind ; 
He  might  afflict  them  with  pestilence ;  He  might  require 
them  to  offer  a  multitude  of  sacrifices.  Men  who  traffic 
with  idolatry  and  adopt  gross  notions  of  revengeful 
gods  are  certain  to  carry  back  with  them  when  they 
return  to  the  better  faith  many  of  the  false  ideas  they 
have  gathered.  And  it  is  just  possible  that  a  demand 
for  human  sacrifices  was  at  this  time  attributed  to  God, 
the.  general  feeling  that  they  might  be  necessary  con- 
necting itself  with  Jephthah's  vow. 

It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  Israelites  who  persistently 
lapsed  into  paganism  could  at  any  time,  because  they 
repented,  find  the  spiritual  thoughts  they  had  lost. 
True  those  thoughts  were  at  the  heart  of  the  national 
life,  there  always  even  when  least  felt.  But  thousands 
of  Hebrews  even  in  a  generation  of  reviving  faith  died 
with  but  a  faint  and  shadowy  personal  understanding 
of  Jehovah.  Everything  in  the  Book  of  Judges  goes  to 
show  that  the  mass  of  the  people  were  nearer  the  level 
of  their  neighbours  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites  than 
the  piety  of  the  Psalms.  A  remarkable  ebb  and  flow 
are  observable  in  the  history  of  the  race.  Look  at 
some  facts  and  there  seems  to  be  decline.  Samson  is 
below  Gideon,  and  Gideon  below  Deborah ;  no  man  of 
leading  until  Isaiah  can  be  named  with  Moses.  Yet 
ever  and  anon  there  are  prophetic  calls  and  voices  out 
of  a  spiritual  region  into  which  the  people  as  a  whole 
do  not  enter,  voices  to  which  they  listen  only  when  dis- 
tressed and  overborne.  Worldliness  increases,  for  the 
world  opens  to  the  Hebrew ;  but  it  often  disappoints, 
and  still  there  are  some  to  whom  the  heavenly  secret 
is  told.     The  race  as  a  whole  is  not  becoming  more 


234  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

devout  and  holy,  but  the  few  are  gaining  a  clearer 
vision  as  one  experience  after  another  is  recorded. 
The  antithesis  is  the  same  we  see  in  the  Christian 
centuries.  Is  the  muhitude  more  pious  now  than  in  the 
age  when  a  king  had  to  do  penance  for  rash  words 
spoken  against  an  ecclesiastic  ?  Are  the  churches  less 
worldly  than  they  were  a  hundred  years  ago  ?  Scarcely 
may  we  affirm  it.  Yet  there  never  was  an  age  so  rich 
as  ours  in  the  finest  spirituality,  the  noblest  Christian 
thought.  Our  van  presses  up  to  the  Simplon  height 
and  is  in  constant  touch  with  those  who  follow;  but 
the  rear  is  still  chaffering  and  idling  in  the  streets  of 
Milan.  It  is  in  truth  always  by  the  fidelity  of  the 
remnant  that  humanity  is  saved  for  God. 

We  cannot  say  that  when  Israel  repented  it  was  in 
the  love  of  holiness  so  much  as  in  the  desire  for  liberty. 
The  ways  of  the  heathen  were  followed  readily,  but  the 
supremacy  of  the  heathen  was  ever  abominable  to  the 
vigorous  Israelite.  By  this  national  spirit  however 
God  could  find  the  tribes,  and  a  special  feature  of  the 
deliverance  from  Ammon  is  marked  where  we  read : 
"The  people,  the  princes  of  Gilead  said  one  to  the 
other,  What  man  is  he  that  will  begin  to  fight  against 
the  children  of  Ammon  ?  He  shall  be  head  over  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Gilead."  Looking  around  for  the  fit 
leader  they  found  Jephthah  and  agreed  to  invite  him. 

Now  this  shows  distinct  progress  in  the  growth  of 
the  nation.  There  is,  if  nothing  more,  a  growth  in 
practical  power.  Abimelech  had  thrust  himself  upon 
the  men  of  Shechem.  Jephthah  is  chosen  apart  from 
any  ambition  of  his  own.  The  movement  which  made 
him  judge  arose  out  of  the  consciousness  of  the 
Gileadites  that  they  could  act  for  themselves  and  were 
bound  to  act  for  themselves.     Providence  indicated  the 


X.  i-xi.ii.]  GILEAD  AND  ITS  CHIEF.  235 

chief,  but  they  had  to  be  instruments  of  providence  in 
making  him  chief  The  vigour  and  robust  inteUigence 
of  the  men  of  Eastern  Palestine  come  out  here.  They 
lead  in  the  direction  of  true  national  Hfe.  While  on 
the  west  of  Jordan  there  is  a  fatalistic  disposition,  these 
men  move.  Gilead,  the  separated  country,  with  the 
still  ruder  Bashan  behind  it  and  the  Argob  a  resort  of 
outlaws,  is  beneath  some  other  regions  in  manners  and 
in  thought,  but  ahead  of  them  in  point  of  energy.  We 
need  not  look  for  refinement,  but  we  shall  see  power ; 
and  the  chosen  leader  while  he  is  something  of  the 
barbarian  will  be  a  man  to  leave  his  mark  on  history. 

At  the  start  we  are  not  prepossessed  in  favour  of 
Jephthah.  There  is  some  confusion  in  the  narrative 
which  has  led  to  the  supposition  that  he  was  a  foundling 
of  the  clan.  But  taking  Gilead  as  the  actual  name  of 
his  father,  he  appears  as  the  son  of  a  harlot,  brought  up 
in  the  paternal  home  and  banished  from  it  when  there 
were  legitimate  sons  able  to  contend  with  him.  We 
get  thus  a  brief  glance  at  a  certain  rough  standard 
of  morals  and  see  that  even  polygamy  made  sharp 
exclusions.  Jephthah,  cast  out,  betakes  himself  to  the 
land  of  Tob  and  getting  about  him  a  band  of  vain 
fellows  or  freebooters  becomes  the  Robin  Hood  or 
Rob  Roy  of  his  time.  There  are  natural  suspicions 
of  a  man  who  takes  to  a  life  of  this  kind,  and  yet  the 
progress  of  events  shows  that  though  Jephthah  was  a 
sort  of  outlaw  his  character  as  well  as  his  courage  must 
have  commended  him.  He  and  his  men  might  occa- 
sionally seize  for  their  own  use  the  cattle  and  corn  of 
Israelites  when  they  were  hard  pressed  for  food.  But 
it  was  generally  against  the  Ammonites  and  other 
enemies  their  raids  were  directed,  and  the  modern 
instances  already  cited  show  that  no  Httle  magnanimity 


236  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

and  even  patriotism  may  go  along  with  a  life  of  lawless 
adventure.  If  this  robber  chief,  as  some  might  call 
him,  now  and  again  levied  contributions  from  a  wealthy 
flock-master,  the  poorer  Hebrews  were  no  doubt 
indebted  to  him  for  timely  help  when  bands  of 
Ammonites  swept  through  the  land.  Something  of 
this  we  must  read  into  the  narrative  otherwise  the 
elders  of  Gilead  would  not  so  unanimously  and  urgently 
have  invited  him  to  become  their  head. 

Jephthah  was  not  at  first  disposed  to  believe  in  the 
good  faith  of  those  who  gave  him  the  invitation. 
Among  the  heads  of  households  who  came  he  saw  his 
own  brothers  who  had  driven  him  to  the  hills.  He 
must  have  more  than  suspected  that  they  only  wished 
to  make  use  of  him  in  their  emergency  and,  the  fighting 
over,  would  set  him  aside.  He  therefore  required  an 
oath  of  the  men  that  they  would  really  accept  him  as 
chief  and  obey  him.  That  given  he  assumed  the 
command. 

And  here  the  religious  character  of  the  man  begins 
to  appear.  At  Mizpah  on  the  verge  of  the  wilderness 
where  the  Israelites,  driven  northward  by  the  victories 
of  Ammon,  had  their  camp  there  stood  an  ancient  cairn 
or  heap  of  stones  which  preserved  the  tradition  of  a 
sacred  covenant  and  still  retained  the  savour  of  sanctity. 
There  it  was  that  Jacob  fleeing  from  Padan-aram  on 
his  way  back  to  Canaan  was  overtaken  by  Laban,  and 
there  raising  the  Cairn  of  Witness  they  swore  in  the 
sight  of  Jehovah  to  be  faithful  to  each  other.  The 
belief  still  lingered  that  the  old  monument  was  a  place 
of  meeting  between  man  and  God.  To  it  Jephthah 
repaired  at  this  new  point  in  his  life.  No  more  an 
adventurer,  no  more  an  outlaw,  but  the  chosen  leader 
of  CLslern    Israel,    "  he   spake    all    his    words    before 


X.  i-xi.  II.]  G I  LEAD  AND  ITS   CHIEF.  237 

Jehovah  in  Mizpah."  He  had  his  hfe  to  review  there, 
and  that  could  not  be  done  without  serious  thought. 
He  had  a  new  and  strenuous  future  opened  to  him. 
Jephthah  the  outcast,  the  unnamed,  was  to  be  leader 
in  a  tremendous  national  struggle.  The  bold  Gileadite 
feels  the  burden  of  the  task.  He  has  to  question  him- 
self, to  think  of  Jehovah.  Hitherto  he  has  been  doing 
his  own  business  and  to  that  he  has  felt  quite  equal ; 
now  with  large  responsibility  comes  a  sense  of  need. 
For  a  fight  with  society  he  has  been  strong  enough  ; 
but  can  he  be  sure  of  himself  as  God's  man,  fighting 
against  Ammon  ?  Not  a  few  words  but  many  would 
he  have  to  utter  as  on  the  hill-top  in  the  silence  he 
lifted  up  his  soul  to  God  and  girt  himself  in  holy 
resolution  as  a  father  and  a  Hebrew  to  do  his  duty 
in  the  day  of  battle. 

Thus  we  pass  from  doubt  of  Jephthah  to  the  hope 
that  the  banished  man,  the  free-booter  will  yet  prove 
to  be  an  Israelite  indeed,  of  sterling  character,  whose 
religion,  very  rude  perhaps,  has  a  deep  strain  of  reality 
and  power.  Jephthah  at  the  cairn  of  Mizpah  lifting 
up  his  hands  in  solemn  invocation  of  the  God  of  Jacob 
reminds  us  that  there  are  great  traditions  of  the  past 
of  our  nation  and  of  our  most  holy  faith  to  which  we 
are  bound  to  be  true,  that  there  is  a  God  our  witness 
and  our  judge  in  Whose  strength  alone  we  can  live  and 
do  nobly.  For  the  service  of  humanity  and  the  main- 
tenance of  faith  we  need  to  be  in  close  touch  with  the 
brave  and  good  of  other  days  and  in  the  story  of  their 
lives  find  quickening  for  our  own.  Along  the  same 
fine  and  succession  we  are  to  bear  our  testimony,  and 
no  hnk  of  connection  with  the  Divine  Power  is  to  be 
missed  which  the  history  of  the  men  of  faith  supplies. 
Yet  as  our  personal  Helper  especially  we  must  know 


238  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

God.  Hearing  His  call  to  ourselves  we  must  lift  the 
standard  and  go  forth  to  the  battle  of  life.  Who  can 
serve  his  family  and  friends,  who  can  advance  the 
well-being  of  the  world,  unless  he  has  entered  into 
that  covenant  with  the  Living  God  which  raises  mortal 
insufficiency  to  power  and  makes  weak  and  ignorant 
men  instruments  of  a  divine  redemption  ? 


XVII. 

THE   TERRIBLE    VOW, 
Judges  xi.  12-40. 

AT  every  stage  of  their  history  the  Hebrews  were 
capable  of  producing  men  of  passionate  religious- 
ness. And  this  appears  as  a  distinction  of  the  group 
of  nations  to  which  they  belong.  The  Arab  of  the 
present  time  has  the  same  quality.  He  can  be  excited 
to  a  holy  war  in  which  thousands  perish.  With  the 
battle-cry  of  Allah  and  his  Prophet  he  forgets  fear. 
He  presents  a  different  mingling  of  character  from  the 
Saxon, — turbulence  and  reverence,  sometimes  apart, 
then  blending — magnanimity  and  a  tremendous  want 
of  magnanimity ;  he  is  fierce  and  generous,  now 
rising  to  vivid  faith,  then  breaking  into  earthly  passion. 
We  have  seen  the  type  in  Deborah.  David  is  the  same 
and  Elijah ;  and  Jephthah  is  the  Gileadite,  the  border 
Arab.  In  each  of  these  there  is  quick"  leaping  at  life 
and  beneath  hot  impulse  a  strain  of  brooding  thought 
with  moments  of  intense  inward  trouble.  As  we  follow 
the  history  we  must  remember  the  kind  of  man  it 
presents  to  us.  There  is  humanity  as  it  is  in  every 
race,  daring  in  effort,  tender  in  affection,  struggling 
with  ignorance  yet  thoughtful  of  God  and  duty,  triumph- 
ing here,  defeated  there.  And  there  is  the  Syrian  with 
the  heat   of  the  sun  in  his  blood  and  the  shadow  of 


240  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Moloch  on  his  heart,  a  son  of  the  rude  hills  and  of 
barbaric  times,  yet  with  a  dignity,  a  sense  of  justice, 
a  keen  upward  look,  the  Israelite  never  lost  in  the 
outlaw. 

So  soon  as  Jephthah  begins  to  act  for  his  people, 
marks  of  a  strong  character  are  seen.  He  is  no  ordinary 
leader,  not  the  mere  fighter  the  elders  of  Gilead  may 
have  taken  him  to  be.  His  first  act  is  to  send  messengers 
to  the  king  of  Ammon  saying.  What  hast  thou  to  do 
with  me  that  thou  art  come  to  fight  against  my  land  ? 
He  is  a  chief  who  desires  to  avert  bloodshed — a  new 
figure  in  the  history. 

Natural  in  those  times  was  the  appeal  to  arms,  so 
natural,  so  customary  that  we  must  not  lightly  pass 
this  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Gileadite  judge.  If 
we  compare  his  policy  with  that  of  Gideon  or  Barak 
we  see  of  course  that  he  had  different  circumstances 
to  deal  with.  Between  Jordan  and  the  Mediterranean 
the  Israelites  required  the  whole  of  the  land  in  order 
to  establish  a  free  nationality.  There  was  no  room 
for  Canaanite  or  Midianite  rule  side  by  side  with  their 
own.  The  dominance  of  Israel  had  to  be  complete 
and  undisturbed.  Hence  there  was  no  alternative 
to  war  when  Jabin  or  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  attacked 
the  tribes.  Might  had  to  be  invoked  on  behalf  of 
right.  On  the  other  side  Jordan  the  position  was 
different.  Away  towards  the  desert  behind  the  moun- 
tains of  Bashan  the  Ammonites  might  find  pasture  for 
their  flocks,  and  Moab  had  its  territory  on  the  slopes 
of  the  lower  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea.  It  was  not 
necessary  to  crush  A.mmon  in  order  to  give  Manasseh, 
Gad  and  Reuben  space  enough  and  to  spare.  Yet 
there  was  a  rare  quality  of  judgment  shown  by  the 
man  who  although  called  to  lead  in  war  began  with 


xi.  12-40.]  THE   TERRIBLE    VOW.  241 

negotiation  and  aimed  at  a  peaceful  settlement.  No 
doubt  there  was  danger  that  the  Ammonites  might 
unite  with  Midian  or  Moab  against  Israel.  But  Jeph- 
thah  hazards  such  a  coalition.  He  knows  the  bitterness 
kindled  by  strife.  He  desires  that  Ammon,  a  kindred 
people,  shall  be  won  over  to  friendliness  with  Israel, 
henceforth  to  be  an  ally  instead  of  a  foe. 

Now  in  one  aspect  this  may  appear  an  error  in 
policy,  and  the  Hebrew  chief  will  seem  especially  to 
blame  when  he  makes  the  admission  that  the  Ammonites 
hold  their  land  from  Chemosh  their  god.  Jephthah 
has  no  sense  of  Israel's  mission  to  the  world,  no  wish 
to  convert  Ammon  to  a  higher  faith,  nor  does  Jehovah 
appear  to  him  as  sole  King,  sole  object  of  human 
worship.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  Hebrews 
were  to  fight  idolatry  everywhere  it  is  plain  their 
swords  would  never  have  been  sheathed.  Phoenicia 
was  close  beside ;  Aram  was  not  far  away ;  northward 
the  Hittites  maintained  their  elaborate  ritual.  A  line 
had  to  be  drawn  somewhere  and,  on  the  whole,  we 
cannot  but  regard  Jephthah  as  an  enlightened  and 
humane  chief  who  wished  to  stir  against  his  people 
and  his  God  no  hostility  that  could  possibly  be  avoided. 
Why  should  not  Israel  conquer  Ammon  by  justice  and 
magnanimiity,  by  showing  the  higher  principles  which 
the  true  religion  taught  ?  He  began  at  all  events  by 
endeavouring  to  stay  the  quarrel,  and  the  attempt  was 
wise. 

The  king  of  Ammon  refused  Jephthah's  offer  to 
negotiate.  He  claimed  the  land  bounded  by  the  Arnon, 
the  Jabbok  and  Jordan  as  his  own  and  demanded 
that  it  should  be  peaceably  given  up  to  him.  In  reply 
Jephthah  denied  the  claim.  It  was  the  Amorites,  he 
said,  who  originally  held   that  part  of  Syria.     Sihon 

16 


242  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

who  was  defeated  in  the  time  of  Moses  was  not  an 
Ammonite  king,  but  chief  of  the  Amorites.  Israel  had 
by  conquest  obtained  the  district  in  dispute,  and  Ammon 
must  give  place. 

The  full  account  given  of  these  messages  sent  by 
Jephthah  shows  a  strong  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
narrator  to  vindicate  Israel  from  any  charge  of  un- 
necessary warfare.  And  it  is  very  important  that  this 
should  be  understood,  for  the  inspiration  of  the  historian 
is  involved.  We  know  of  nations  that  in  sheer  lust 
of  conquest  have  attacked  tribes  whose  land  they  did 
not  need,  and  we  have  read  histories  in  which  wars 
unprovoked  and  cruel  have  been  glorified.  In  after 
times  the  Hebrew  kings  brought  trouble  and  disaster 
on  themselves  by  their  ambition.  It  would  have  been 
well  if  David  and  Solomon  had  followed  a  policy  like 
Jephthah's  rather  than  attempted  to  rival  Assyria  and 
Egypt.  We  see  an  error  rather  than  a  cause  of  boast- 
ing when  David  put  garrisons  in  Syria  of  Damascus : 
strife  was  thereby  provoked  which  issued  in  many  a 
sanguinary  war.  The  Hebrews  should  never  have 
earned  the  character  of  an  aggressive  and  ambitious 
people  that  required  to  be  kept  in  check  by  the  king- 
doms around.  To  this  nation,  a  worldly  nation  on  the 
whole,  was  committed  a  spiritual  inheritance,  a  spiritual 
task.  Is  it  asked  why  being  worldly  the  Hebrews 
ought  to  have. fulfilled  a  spiritual  calling  ?  The  answer 
is  that  their  best  men  understood  and  declared  the 
Divine  will,  and  they  should  have  hstened  to  their  best 
men.  Their  fatal  mistake  was,  as  Christ  showed,  to 
deride  their  prophets,  to  crush  and  kill  the  messen- 
gers of  God.  And  many  other  nations  hkewise  have 
missed  their  true  vocation  being  deluded  by  dreams 
of  vast  empire  and  earthly  glory.     To  combat  idolatry 


xi.  12-40.]  THE   TERRIBLE    VOW.  243 

was  indeed  the  business  of  Israel  and  especially  to 
drive  back  the  heathenism  that  would  have  overwhelmed 
its  faith  ;  and  often  this  had  to  be  done  with  an  earthly 
sword  because  liberty  no  less  than  faith  was  at  stake. 
But  a  policy  of  aggression  was  never  the  duty  of  this 
people. 

The  temperate  messages  of  the  Hebrew  chief  to  the 
king  of  Ammon  proved  to  be  of  no  avail :  war  alone 
was  to  settle  the  rival  claims.  And  this  once  clear 
Jephthah  lost  no  time  in  preparing  for  battle.  As  one 
who  felt  that  witliout  God  no  man  can  do  anything,  he 
sought  assurance  of  divine  aid  ;  and  we  have  now  to 
consider  the  vow  which  he  made,  ever  interesting  on 
account  of  the  moral  problem  it  involves  and  the  very 
pathetic  circumstances  which  accompanied  its  fulfilment. 

The  terms  of  the  solemn  engagement  under  which 
Jephthah  came  were  these : — "  If  Thou  wilt  indeed 
deliver  the  children  of  Ammon  into  mine  hand,  then 
it  shall  be  that  whatsoever"  (Septuagint  and  Vul- 
gate, *'  whosoever  ^^)  ^' cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my 
house  to  meet  me  when  I  return  in  peace  from  the 
children  of  Ammon  shall  be  the  Lord's,  and  I  will 
offer  it  (otherwise,  him)  for  a  burnt  offering."  And 
here  two  questions  arise ;  the  first,  what  he  could  have 
meant  by  the  premise  ;  the  second,  whether  we  can 
justify  him  in  making  it.  As  to  the  first,  the  explicit 
designation  to  God  of  whatever  came  forth  of  the  doors 
of  his  house  points  unmistakably  to  a  human  life  as 
the  devoted  thing.  It  would  have  been  idle  in  an 
emergency  like  that  in  which  Jephthah  found  himself, 
v/ith  a  hazardous  conflict  impending  that  was  to  decide 
the  fate  of  the  eastern  tribes  at  least,  to  anticipate  the 
appearance  of  an  animal,  bullock,  goat  or  sheep,  and 
promise  that  in  sacrifice.     The  form  of  words  used  in 


244  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

the  vow  cannot  be  held  to  refer  to  an  animal.  The 
chief  is  thinking  of  some  one  who  will  express  joy  at 
his  success  and  greet  him  as  a  victor.  In  the  fulness 
of  his  heart  he  leaps  to  a  wild  savage  mark  of  devotion. 
It  is  a  crisis  alike  for  him  and  for  the  people  and  what 
can  he  do  to  secure  the  favour  and  help  of  Jehovah  ? 
Too  ready  from  his  acquaintance  with  heathen  sacri- 
fices and  ideas  to  believe  that  the  God  of  Israel  will 
be  pleased  with  the  kind  of  offerings  by  which  the 
gods  of  Sidon  and  Aram  were  honoured,  feeling  himself 
as  the  chief  of  the  Hebrews  bound  to  make  some  great 
and  unusual  sacrifice,  he  does  not  promise  that  the 
captives  taken  in  war  shall  be  devoted  to  Jehovah,  but 
some  one  of  his  own  people  is  to  be  the  victim.  The 
dedication  shall  be  all  the  more  impressive  that  the  life 
given  up  is  one  of  which  he  himself  shall  feel  the  loss. 
A  conqueror  returning  from  war  would,  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  have  loaded  with  gifts  the  first  member 
of  his  household  who  came  forth  to  welcome  him. 
Jephthah  vows  to  give  that  very  person  to  God.  The 
insufficient  religious  intelligence  of  the  man,  whose  life 
had  been  far  removed  from  elevating  influences,  this 
once  perceived — and  we  cannot  escape  from  the  facts 
of  the  case — the  vow  is  parallel  to  others  of  which 
ancient  history  tells.  Jephthah  expects  some  servant, 
some  favourite  slave  to  be  the  first.  There  is  a  touch 
of  barbaric  grandeur  and  at  the  same  time  of  Roman 
sternness  in  his  vow.  As  a  chief  he  has  the  lives  of 
all  his  household  entirely  at  his  disposal.  To  sacrifice 
one  will  be  hard,  for  he  is  a  humane  man  ;  but  he 
expects  that  the  offering  will  be  all  the  more  acceptable 
to  the  Most  High.  Such  are  the  ideas  moral  and 
religious  from  which  his  vow  springs. 

Now  we  should  like  to  find  more  knowledge  and  a 


xi.  I2-40.]  THE   TERRIBLE    VOW.  245 


higher  vision  in  a  leader  of  Israel.  We  would  fain 
escape  from  the  conclusion  that  a  Hebrew  could  be  so 
ignorant  of  the  divine  character  as  Jephthah  appears; 
and  moved  by  such  feelings  many  have  taken  a  very 
different  view  of  the  matter.  The  Gileadite  has,  for 
example,  been  represented  as  fully  aware  of  the  Mosaic 
regulations  concerning  sacrifice  and  the  method  for 
redeeniing  the  life  of  a  firstborn  child ;  that  is  to  say 
he  is  supposed  to  have  made  his  vow  under  cover  of 
the  Levitical  provision  by  which  in  case  his  daughter 
should  first  meet  him  he  would  escape  the  necessity 
of  sacrificing  her.  The  rule  in  question  could  not, 
however,  be  stretched  to  a  case  like  this.  But,  suppos- 
ing it  could,  is  it  likely  that  a  man  whose  whole  soul 
had  gone  out  in  a  vow  of  life  and  death  to  God  would 
reserve  such  a  door  of  escape  ?  In  that  case  the  story 
would  lose  its  terror  indeed,  but  also  its  power :  human 
history  would  be  the  poorer  by  one  of  the  great  tragic 
experiences  wild  and  supernatural  that  show  man 
struggling  with  thoughts  above  himself. 

What  did  the  Gileadite  know  ?  What  ought  he  to 
have  known  ?  We  see  in  his  vow  a  fatalistic  strain  ; 
he  leaves  it  to  chance  or  fate  to  determine  who  shall 
meet  him.  There  is  also  an  assumption  of  the  right 
to  take  into  his  own  hands  the  disposal  of  a  human 
life ;  and  this,  though  most  confidently  claimed,  was 
entirely  a  factitious  right.  It  is  one  which  mankind 
has  ceased  to  allow.  Further  the  purpose  of  offering  a 
human  being  in  sacrifice  is  unspeakably  horrible  to  us. 
But  how  differently  these  things  must  have  appeared  in 
the  dim  light  w  hich  alone  guided  this  man  of  lawless  fife 
in  his  attempt  to  make  sure  of  God  and  honour  Him  ! 
We  have  but  to  consider  things  that  are  done  at  the 
present    day   in    the   name    of    religion,    the    hfelong 


246  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

"  devotion  "  of  young  women  in  a  nunnery,  for  example, 
and  all  the  ceremonies  which  accompany  that  outrage 
on  the  divine  order  to  see  that  centuries  of  Christianity 
have  not  yet  put  an  end  to  practices  which  under  colour 
of  piety  are  barbaric  and  revolting.  In  the  modern 
case  a  nun  secluded  from  the  world,  dead  to  the  world, 
is  considered  to  be  an  offering  to  God.  The  old 
conception  of  sacrifice  was  that  the  life  must  pass  out 
of  the  world  by  way  of  death  in  order  to  become  God's. 
Or  again,  when  the  priest  describing  the  devotion  of 
his  body  says  :  "  The  essential,  the  sacerdotal  purpose 
to  which  it  should  be  used  is  to  die.  Such  death  must 
be  begun  in  chastity,  continued  in  mortification,  con- 
summated in  that  actual  death  which  is  the  priest's 
final  oblation,  his  last  sacrifice,"  * — the  same  super- 
stition appears  in  a  refined  and  mystical  form. 

His  vow  made,  the  chief  went  forth  to  battle  leaving 
in  his  home  one  child  only,  a  daughter  beautiful,  high- 
spirited,  the  joy  of  her  father's  heart.  She  was  a  true 
Hebrew  girl  and  all  her  thought  was  that  he,  her  sire, 
should  deliver  Israel.  For  this  she  longed  and  prayed. 
And  it  was  so.  The  enthusiasm  of  Jephthah's  devotion 
to  God  was  caught  by  his  troops  and  bore  them  on 
irresistibly.  Marching  from  Mizpah  in  the  land  of 
Bashan  they  crossed  Manasseh,  and  south  from  Mizpeh 
of  Gilead,  which  was  not  far  from  the  Jabbok,  they 
Wnd  the  Ammonites  encamped.  The  first  battle 
practically  decided  the  campaign.  From  Aroer  to 
xVIinnith,  from  the  Jabbok  to  the  springs  of  Arnon,  the 
course  of  flight  and  bloodshed  extended,  until  the 
invaders  were  swept  from  the  territory  of  the  tribes. 
Then  came  the  triumphant  return. 

aav •    — — ■ I  »    > 

*  Henri  Perreyve. 


xi.  12-40.]  THE    TERRIBLE    VOW. 


247 


We  imagine  the  chief  as  he  approached  his  home 
among  the  hills  of  Gilead,  his  eagerness  and  exultation 
mingled  with  some  vague  alarm.  The  vow  he  has 
made  cannot  but  weigh  upon  his  mind  now  that  the 
performance  of  it  comes  so  near.  He  has  had  time 
to  think  what  it  implies.  When  he  uttered  the  words 
that  involved  a  life  the  issue  of  war  appeared  doubtful. 
Perhaps  the  campaign  would  be  long  and  indecisive. 
He  might  have  returned  not  altogether  descredited, 
yet  not  triumphant.  But  he  has  succeeded  beyond 
his  expectation.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
offering  is  due  to  Jehovah.  Who  then  sliall  appear  ? 
The  secret  of  his  vow  is  hid  in  his  own  breast.  To  no 
man  has  he  revealed  his  solemn  promise ;  nor  has  he 
dared  in  any  way  to  interfere  with  the  course  of  events. 
As  he  passes  up  the  valley  with  his  attendants  there 
is  a  stir  in  his  rude  castle.  The  tidings  of  his  coming- 
have  preceded  him  and  she,  that  dear  girl  who  is  the 
very  apple  of  his  eye,  his  daughter,  his  only  child, 
having  already  rehearsed  her  part,  goes  forth  eagerly 
to  welcome  him.  She  is  clad  in  her  gayest  dress. 
Her  eyes  are  bright  with  the  keenest  excitement. 
The  timbrel  her  father  once  gave  her,  on  which  she 
has  often  played  to  delight  him,  is  tuned  to  a  chant  of 
triumph.  She  dances  as  she  passes  from  the  gate.  Her 
father,  her  father,  chief  and  victor  ! 

And  he  ?  A  sudden  horror  checks  his  heart.  He 
stands  arrested,  cold  as  stone,  with  eyes  of  strange 
dark  trouble  fixed  upon  the  gay  young  figure  that  wel- 
comes himi  to  home  and  rest  and  fame.  She  flies  to 
his  arms,  but  they  do  not  open  to  her.  She  looks  at 
him,  for  he  has  never  repulsed  her — and  why  now  ? 
He  puts  forth  his  hands  as  if  to  thrust  away  a  dread- 
ful sight,  and  what  does  she  hear  ?     Amid  the  sobs  of 


248  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

a  strong  man's  agony,  "  Alas,  my  daughter,  thou  hast 
brought  me  very  low  .  .  .  and  thou  art  one  of  them 
that  trouble  me."  To  startled  ears  the  truth  is  slowly 
told.  She  is  vowed  to  the  Lord  in  sacrifice.  He  can- 
not go  back.  Jehovah  who  gave  the  victory  now  claims 
the  fulfilment  of  the  oath. 

We  are  dealing  with  the  facts  of  life.  For  a  time 
let  us  put  aside  the  reflections  that  are  so  easy  to  make 
about  rash  vows  and  the  iniquity  of  keeping  them. 
Before  this  anguish  of  the  loving  heart,  this  awful 
issue  of  a  sincere  but  superstitious  devotion  we  stand 
in  reverence.  It  is  one  of  the  supreme  hours  of 
humanity.  Will  the  father  not  seek  relief  from  his 
obligation  ?  Will  the  daughter  not  rebel  ?  Surely  a 
sacrifice  so  awful  will  not  be  completed.  Yet  we  remem- 
ber Abraham  and  Isaac  journeying  together  to  Moriah, 
and  how  with  the  father's  resignation  of  his  great  hope 
there  must  have  gone  the  willingness  of  the  son  to  face 
death  if  that  last  proof  of' piety  and  faith  is  required. 
We  look  at  the  father  and  daughter  of  a  later  date  and 
find  the  same  spirit  of  submission  to  what  is  regarded 
as  the  will  of  God.  Is  the  thing  horrible — too  horrible 
to  be  dwelt  upon  ?    Are  we  inclined  to  say, 

** ,  .  .  *  Heaven  heads  the  count  of  crimes 

With  that  wild  oath  ? '  She  renders  answer  high, 

'  Not  so  ;  nor  once  alone,  a  thousand  times 
I  would  be  born  and  die.'  " 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  ''Jephthah's  rash  act, 
springing  from  a  culpable  ignorance  of  the  character 
\ji  God,  directed  by  heathen  superstition  and  cruelty 
poured  an  ingredient  of  extreme  bitterness  into  his  cup 
of  joy  and  poisoned  his  whole  life."  Suffering  indeed 
there  must  have  been  for  both  the  actors  in  that  pitiful 


xi.  12-40.]  THE   TERRIBLE    VOW.  249 


tragedy  of  devotion  and  ignorance,  who  knew  not  the 
God  to  Whom  they  offered  the  sacrifice.  But  it  is  one 
of  the  marks  of  rude  erring  man  that  he  does  take  upon 
himself  such  burdens  of  pain  in  the  service  of  the 
invisible  Lord.  A  shallow  scepticism  entirely  misreads 
the  strange  dark  deeds  often  done  for  religion;  yet 
one  who  has  uttered  many  a  foolish  thing  in  the  way 
of  "explaining"  piety  can  at  last  confess  that  the 
renouncing  mortifying  spirit  is,  with  all  its  errors,  one 
of  man's  noble  and  distinguishing  qualities.  To  Jeph- 
thah,  as  to  his  heroic  daughter,  religion  was  another 
thing  than  it  is  to  many,  just  because  of  their  extraor- 
dinary renunciation.  Very  ignorant  they  were  surely, 
but  they  were  not  so  ignorant  as  those  who  make  no 
great  offering  to  God,  who  would  not  resign  a  single 
pleasure,  nor  deprive  a  son  or  daughter  of  a  single 
comfort  or  delight,  for  the  sake  of  religion  and  the 
higher  life.  To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?  said  the 
disciples,  when  the  pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard  very 
costly  was  poured  on  the  head  of  Jesus -and  the  house 
was  filled  with  the  odour.  To  many  now  it  seems 
waste  to  expend  thought,  time  or  money  upon  a 
sacred  cause,  much  more  to  hazard  or  to  give  hfe  itself. 
We  see  the  evils  of  enthusiastic  self-devotion  to  the 
work  of  God  very  clearly ;  its  power  we  do  not  feel. 
We  are  saving  life  so  diligently,  many  of  us,  that  we 
may  well  fear  to  lose  it  irremediably.  There  is  no 
strain  and  therefore  no  strength,  no  joy.  A  weary 
pessimism  dogs  our  unfaith. 

To  Jephthah  and  his  daughter  the  vow  was  sacred, 
irrevocable.  The  deliverance  of  Israel  by  so  signal 
and  complete  a  victory  left  no  alternative.  It  would 
have  been  well  if  they  had  known  God  differently ;  yet 
better  this  darkly  impressive  issue  which  went  to  the 


250  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

making  of  Hebrew  faith  and  strength  than  easy  unfruitful 
evasion  of  duty.  We  are  shocked  by  the  expenditure 
of  fine  feeling  and  heroism  in  upholding  a  false  idea  of 
God  and  obligation  to  Him ;  but  are  we  outraged  and 
distressed  by  the  constant  effort  to  escape  from  God 
which  characterizes  our  age  ?  And  have  we  for  our 
own  part  come  yet  to  the  right  idea  of  self  and  its  rela- 
tions ?  Our  century,  beclouded  on  many  points,  is 
nowhere  less  informed  than  in  matters  of  self-sacrifice ; 
Christ's  doctrine  is  still  uncomprehended.  Jephthah  was 
wrong,  for  God  did  not  need  to  be  bribed  to  support 
a  man  who  was  bent  on  doing  his  duty.  And  many 
fail  now  to  perceive  that  personal  development  and 
service  of  God  are  in  the  same  line.  Life  is  made  for 
generosity  not  mortification,  for  giving  in  glad  ministry 
not  for  giving  up  in  hideous  sacrifice.  It  is  to  be 
devoted  to  God  by  the  free  and  holy  use  of  body, 
mind  and  soul  in  the  daily  tasks  which  Providence 
appoints. 

The  wailing  of  Jephthah's  daughter  rings  in  our  ears 
bearing  with  it  the  anguish  of  many  a  soul  tormented 
in  the  name  of  that  which  is  most  sacred,  tormented 
by  mistakes  concerning  God,  the  awful  theory  that  He 
is  pleased  with  human  suffering.  The  relics  of  that 
hideous  Moloch-worship  which  polluted  Jephthah's 
faith,  not  even  yet  purged  away  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
continue  and  make  religion  an  anxiety  and  life  a  kind 
of  torture.  I  do  not  speak  of  that  devotion  of  thought 
and  time,  eloquence  and  talent  to  some  worthless  cause 
which  here  and  there  amazes  the  student  of  history  and 
human  life, — the  passionate  ardour,  for  example,  with 
which  Flora  Macdonald  gave  herself  up  to  the  service 
of  a  Stuart.  But  religion  is  made  to  demand  sacrifices 
compared  to  which  the  offering  of  Jephthah's  daughter 


xi.  12-40.]  THE   TERRIBLE    VOW.  251 

was  easy.  The  imagination  of  women  especially,  fired 
by  false  representations  of  the  death  of  Christ  in  which 
there  was  a  clear  divine  assertion  of  self,  while  it  is 
made  to  appear  as  complete  suppression  of  self,  bears 
many  on  in  a  hopeless  and  essentially  immoral  endeavour. 
Has  God  given  us  minds,  feelings,  right  ambitions  that 
we  may  crush  them  ?  Does  He  purify  our  desires  and 
aspirations  by  the  fire  of  His  own  Spirit  and  still 
require  us  to  crush  them  ?  Are  we  to  find  our  end 
in  being  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  devoid  of  will, 
of  purpose,  of  personality  ?  Is  this  what  Christianity 
demands  ?  Then  our  religion  is  but  refined  suicide, 
and  the  God  who  desires  us  to  annihilate  ourselves  is 
but  the  Supreme  Being  of  the  Buddhists,  if  those  may 
be  said  to  have  a  god  who  regard  the  suppression  of 
individuality  as  salvation. 

Christ  was  made  a  sacrifice  for  us.  Yes  :  He  sacrificed 
everything  except  His  own  eternal  life  and  power ;  He 
sacrificed  ease  and  favour  and  immediate  success  for 
the  manifestation  of  God.  So  He  achieved  the  fulness 
of  personal  might  and  royalty.  And  every  sacrifice 
His  religion  calls  us  to  make  is  designed  to  secure 
that  enlargement  and  fulness  of  spiritual  individuality  in 
the  exercise  of  which  we  shall  truly  serve  God  and  our 
fellows.  Does  God  require  sacrifice  ?  Yes,  unques- 
tionably— the  sacrifice  which  every  reasonable  being 
must  make  in  order  that  the  mind,  the  soul  may  be 
strong  and  free,  sacrifice  of  the  lower  for  the  higher, 
sacrifice  of  pleasure  for  truth,  of  comfort  for  duty,  of 
the  life  that  is  earthly  and  temporal  for  the  life  that  is 
heavenly  and  eternal.  And  the  distinction  of  Chris- 
tianity is  that  it  makes  this  sacrifice  supremely  reason- 
able because  it  reveals  the  higher  life,  the  heavenly 
hope,  the  eternal  rewards  for  which  the  sacrifice  is  to 


252  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

be  made,  that  it  enables  us  in  making  it  to  feel  ourselves 
united  to  Christ  in  a  divine  work  which  is  to  issue  in 
the  redemption  of  mankind. 

There  are  not  a  few  popularly  accepted  guides  in 
religion  who  fatally  misconceive  the  doctrine  of  sacrifice. 
They  take  man-made  conditions  for  Divine  opportunities 
and  calls.  Their  arguments  come  home  not  to  the 
selfish  and  overbearing,  but  to  the  unselfish  and  long- 
sufiering  members  of  society,  and  too  often  they  are 
more  anxious  to  praise  renunciation — any  kind  of  it, 
for  any  purpose,  so  it  involve  acute  feeling — than  to 
magnify  truth  and  insist  on  righteousness.  It  is  women 
chiefly  these  arguments  affect,  and  the  neglect  of  pure 
truth  and  justice  with  which  women  are  charged  is  in 
no  small  degree  the  result  of  false  moral  and  religious 
teaching.  They  are  told  that  it  is  good  to  renounce  and 
suffer  even  when  at  every  step  advantage  is  taken  of 
their  submission  and  untruth  triumphs  over  generosity. 
They  are  urged  to  school  themselves  to  humiliation  and 
loss  not  because  God  appoints  these  but  because 
human  selfishness  imposes  them.  The  one  clear  and 
damning  objection  to  the  false  doctrine  of  self-suppres- 
sion is  here :  it  makes  sin.  Those  who  yield  where 
they  should  protest,  who  submit  where  they  should 
argue  and  reprove,  make  a  path  for  selfishness  and 
injustice  and  increase  evil  instead  of  lessening  it. 
They  persuade  themselves  that  they  are  bearing  the 
cross  after  Christ ;  but  what  in  effect  are  they  doing  ? 
The  missionary  amongst  ignorant  heathen  has  to  bear 
to  the  uttermost  as  Christ  bore.  But  to  give  so-called 
Christians  a  pov.er  of  oppression  and  exaction  is  to 
turn  the  principles  of  religion  upside  down  and  hasten 
the  doom  of  those  for  whom  the  sacrifice  is  made. 
When  we  meddle  with  truth  and  righteousness  even  in 


xi.  I2-40.]  THE    TERRIBLE    VOW.  253 

the  name  of  piety  we  simply  commit  sacrilege,  we  range 
ourselves  with  the  wrong  and  unreal;  there  is  no 
foundation  under  our  faith  and  no  moral  result  of  our 
endurance  and  self-denial.  We  are  selling  Christ  not 
following  Him. 


XVIII. 

SHIBBOLETHS, 
Judges  xii.  I -7. 

WHILE  Jephthah  and  his  Gileadites  were  engaged 
in  the  struggle  with  Ammon  jealous  watch  was 
kept  over  all  their  movements  by  the  men  of  Ephraim. 
As  the  head  tribe  of  the  house  of  Joseph  occupying 
the  centre  of  Palestine  Ephraim  was  suspicious  of  all 
attempts  and  still  more  of  every  success  that  threatened 
its  pride  and  pre-eminence.  We  have  seen  Gideon  in 
the  hour  of  his  victory  challenged  by  this  watchful 
tribe,  and  now  a  quarrel  is  made  with  Jephthah  who 
has  dared  to  win  a  battle  without  its  help.  What  were 
the  Gileadites  that  they  should  presume  to  elect  a  chief 
and  form  an  army  ?  Fugitives  from  Ephraim  who  had 
gathered  in  the  shaggy  forests  of  Bashan  and  among 
the  cliffs  of  the  Argob,  mere  adventurers  in  fact,  what 
right  had  they  to  set  up  as  the  protectors  of  Israel  ? 
The  Ephraimites  found  the  position  intolerable.  The 
vigour  and  confidence  of  Gilead  were  insulting.  If  a 
check  were  not  put  on  the  energy  of  the  new  leader 
might  he  not  cross  the  Jordan  and  establish  a  tyranny 
over  the  whole  land  ?  There  was  a  call  to  arms,  and 
a  large  force  was  soon  marching  against  Jephthah's 
camp  to  demand  satisfaction  and  submission. 

The    pretext    that    Jephthah    had    fought    against 


xii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS.  255 

Ammon  without  asking  the  Ephraimites  to  join  him 
was  shallow  enough.  The  invitation  appears  to  have 
been  given ;  and  even  without  an  invitation  Ephraim 
might  well  have  taken  the  field.  But  the  savage 
threat,  ''We  will  burn  thine  house  upon  thee  with 
fire/'  showed  the  temper  of  the  leaders  in  this  expedi- 
tion* The  menace  was  so  violent  that  the  Gileadites 
were  roused  at  once  and,  fi-esh  from  their  victory  over 
Ammon,  they  were  not  long  in  humbling  the  pride  of 
the  great  western  clan. 

One  may  well  ask,  Where  is  Ephraim's  fear  of  God  ? 
Why  has  there  been  no  consultation  of  the  priests  at 
Shiloh  by  the  tribe  under  whose  care  the  sanctuary 
is  placed  ?  The  great  Jewish  commentary  affirms  that 
the  priests  were  to  blame,  and  we  cannot  but  agree. 
If  religious  influences  and  arguments  were  not  used 
to  prevent  the  expedition  against  Gilead  they  should 
have  been  used.  The  servants  of  the  oracle  might 
have  understood  the  duty  of  the  tribes  to  each  other 
and  of  the  whole  nation  to  God  and  done  their  utmost 
to  avert  civil  war.  Unhappily,  however,  professed 
interpreters  of  the  divine  will  are  too  often  forward 
in  urging  the  claims  of  a  tribe  or  favouring  the  arrogance 
of  a  class  by  which  their  own  position  is  upheld.  As 
on  the  former  occasion  when  Ephraim  interfered,  so  in 
this  we  scarcely  go  beyond  what  is  probable  in  suppos- 
ing that  the  priests  declared  it  to  be  the  duty  of  faithful 
Israelites  to  check  the  career  of  the  eastern  chief  and 
so  prevent  his  rude  and  ignorant  religion  from  gaining 
dangerous  popularity.  Bishop  Wordsworth  has  seen 
a  fanciful  resemblance  between  Jephthah's  campaign 
against  Ammon  and  the  revival  under  the  Wesleys 
and  Whitefield  which  as  a  movement  against  ungodliness 
put  to  shame  the  sloth  of  the  Church  of  England.     He 


256  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

has  remarked  on  the  scorn  and  disdain — and  he  might 
have  used  stronger  terms — with  which  the  estabHshed 
clergy  assailed  those  who  apart  from  them  were  suc- 
cessfully doing  the  work  of  God.  This  was  an  example 
of  far  more  flagrant  tribal  jealousy  than  that  of  Ephraim 
and  her  priests ;  and  have  there  not  been  cases  of 
rehgious  leaders  urging  retaliation  upon  enemies  or 
calling  for  war  in  order  to  punish  what  was  absurdly 
deemed  an  outrage  on  national  honour?  With  facts 
of  this  kind  in  view  we  can  easily  believe  that  from 
Shiloh  no  word  of  peace,  but  on  the  other  hand  words  of 
encouragement  were  heard  when  the  chiefs  of  Ephraim 
began  to  hold  councils  of  war  and  to  gather  their  men 
for  the  expedition  that  was  to  make  an  end  of  Jephthah. 
Let  it  be  allowed  that  Ephraim,  a  strong  tribe,  the 
guardian  of  the  ark  of  Jehovah,  much  better  instructed 
than  the  Gileadites  in  the  divine  law,  had  a  right  to 
maintain  its  place.  But  the  security  of  high  position  lies 
in  high  purpose  and  noble  service ;  and  an  Ephraim 
ambitious  of  leading  should  have  been  forward  on  every 
occasion  when  the  other  tribes  were  in  confusion  and 
trouble.  When  a  pohtical  party  or  a  church  claims  to 
be  first  in  regard  for  righteousness  and  national  well- 
being  it  should  not  think  of  its  own  credit  or  con- 
tinuance in  power  but  of  its  duty  in  the  war  against 
injustice  and  ungodliness.  The  favour  of  the  great,  the 
admiration  of  the  multitude  should  be  nothing  to  either 
church  or  party.  To  rail  at  those  who  are  more 
generous,  more  patriotic,  more  eager  in  the  service  of 
truth,  to  profess  a  fear  of  some  ulterior  design  against 
the  constitution  or  the  faith,  to  turn  all  the  force  of 
influence  and  eloquence  and  even  of  slander  and  menace 
against  the  disliked  neighbour  instead  of  the  real 
enemy,    this   is   the   nadir   of    baseness.      There   are 


lii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS,  257 

Ephraims  still,  strong  tribes  in  the  land,  that  are 
too  much  exercised  in  putting  down  claims,  too  little 
in  finding  principles  of  unity  and  forms  of  practical 
brotherhood.  We  see  in  this  bit  of  history  an  example 
of  the  humiliation  that  sooner  or  later  falls  on  the 
jealous  and  the  arrogant ;  and  every  age  is  adding 
instances  of  a  like  kind. 

Civil  war,  at  all  times  lamentable,  appears  peculiarly 
so  when  the  cause  of  it  lies  in  haughtiness  and  distrust. 
We  have  found  however  that,  beneath  the  surface, 
there  may  have  been  elements  of  division  and  ill-will 
serious  enough  to  require  this  painful  remedy.  The  cam- 
paign may  have  prevented  a  lasting  rupture  between 
the  eastern  and  western  tribes,  a  separation  of  the 
stream  of  Israel's  religion  and  nationality  into  rival 
currents.  It  may  also  have  arrested  a  tendency  to 
ecclesiastical  narrowness,  which  at  this  early  stage 
would  have  done  immense  harm.  It  is  quite  true  that 
Gilead  was  rude  and  uninstructed,  as  Galilee  had  the 
reputation  of  being  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  But  the 
leading  tribes  or  classes  of  a  nation  are  not  entitled 
to  overbear  the  less  enlightened,  nor  by  attempts  at 
tyranny  to  drive  them  into  separation.  Jephthah's 
victory  had  the  effect  of  making  Ephraim  and  the  other 
western  tribes  understand  that  Gilead  had  to  be 
reckoned  with,  whether  for  weal  or  woe,  as  an  integral 
and  important  part  of  the  body  politic.  In  Scottish 
history,  the  despotic  attempt  to  thrust  Episcopacy  on 
the  nation  was  the  cause  of  a  distressing  civil  war ;  a 
people  who  would  not  fall  in  with  the  forms  of  religion 
that  were  in  favour  at  head-quarters  had  to  fight  for 
liberty.  Despised  or  esteemed  they  resolved  to  keep 
and  use  their  rights,  and  the  religion  of  the  world  owes 
a  debt  to  the  Covenanters.     Then  in  our  own  times, 

17 


258  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

lament  as  we  may  the  varied  forms  of  antagonism  to 
settled  faith  and  government,  that  enmity  of  which 
communism  and  anarchism  are  the  delirium,  it  would 
be  simply  disastrous  to  suppress  it  by  sheer  force  even 
if  the  thing  were  possible.  Surely  those  who  are 
certain  they  have  right  on  their  side  need  not  be 
arrogant.  The  overbearing  temper  is  always  a  sign  of 
hollow  principle  as  well  as  of  moral  infirmity.  Was 
any  Gilead  ever  put  down  by  a  mere  assertion  of 
superiority,  even  on  the  field  of  battle  ?  Let  the  truth 
be  acknowledged  that  only  in  freedom  lies  the  hope 
of  progress  in  intelligence,  in  constitutional  order  and 
purity  of  faith.  The  great  problems  of  national  life 
and  development  can  never  be  settled  as  Ephraim  tried 
to  settle  the  movement  beyond  Jordan.  The  idea  of 
fife  expands  and  room  must  be  left  for  its  enlargement. 
The  many  lines  of  thought,  of  personal  activity,  of 
religious  and  social  experiment  leading  to  better  ways 
or  else  proving  by-and-by  that  the  old  are  best — all 
these  must  have  place  in  a  free  state.  The  threats  of 
revolution  that  trouble  nations  would  die  away  if  this 
were  clearly  understood ;  and  we  read  history  in  vain 
if  we  think  that  the  old  autocracies  or  aristocracies  will 
ever  approve  themselves  again,  unless  indeed  they  take 
far  wiser  and  more  Christian  forms  than  they  had  in 
past  ages.  The  thought  of  individual  liberty  once  firmly 
rooted  in  the  minds  of  men,  there  is  no  going  back  to 
the  restraints  that  were  possible  before  it  was  familiar. 
Government  finds  another  basis  and  other  duties.  A 
new  kind  of  order  arises  which  attempts  no  suppression 
of  any  idea  or  sincere  belief  and  allows  all  possible 
room  for  experiments  in  living.  Unquestionably  this 
altered  condition  of  things  increases  the  weight  of  moral 
responsibility.     In  ordering  our  own  lives  as  well  as  in 


xii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS.  259 

regulating  custom  and  law  we  need  to  exercise  the  most 
serious  care,  the  most  earnest  thought.  Life  is  not 
easier  because  it  has  greater  breadth  and  freedom. 
Each  is  thrown  back  more  upon  conscience,  has  more 
to  do  for  his  fellow-men  and  for  God. 

We  pass  now  to  the  end  of  the  campaign  and  the 
scene  at  the  fords  of  Jordan,  when  the  Gileadites, 
avenging  themselves  on  Ephraim,  used  the  notable 
expedient  of  asking  a  certain  word  to  be  pronounced  in 
order  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  To  begin  with, 
the  slaughter  was  quite  unnecessary.  If  bloodshed 
tliere  had  to  be,  that  on  the  field  of  battle  was  certainly 
enough.  The  wholesale  murder  of  the  "  fugitives  of 
Ephraim,"  so  called  with  reference  to  their  own  taunt, 
was  a  passionate  and  barbarous  deed.  Those  who 
began  the  strife  could  not  complain;  but  it  was  the 
leaders  of  the  tribe  who  rushed  on  war,  and  now  the 
rank  and  file  must  suffer.  Had  Ephraim  triumphed 
the  defeated  Gileadites  would  have  found  no  quarter; 
victorious  they  gave  none.  We  may  trust,  however, 
that  the  number  forty-two  thousand  represents  the  total 
strength  of  the  army  that  was  dispersed  and  not  those 
left  dead  on  the  field. 

The  expedient  used  at  the  fords  turned  on  a  defect 
or  peculiarity  of  speech.  Shibboleth  perhaps  meant 
stream.  Of  each  man  who  came  to  the  stream  of 
Jordan  wishing  to  pass  to  the  other  side  it  was  required 
that  he  should  say  Shibboleth.  The  Ephraimites  tried 
but  said  Sibboleth  instead,  and  so  betraying  their  west- 
country  birth  they  pronounced  their  own  doom.  The 
incident  has  become  proverbial  and  the  proverbial  use 
of  it  is  widely  suggestive.  First,  however,  we  may 
note  a  more  direct  application. 


260  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Do  we  not  at  times  observe  how  words  used  in 
common  speech,  phrases  or  turns  of  expression  betray 
a  man's  upbringing  or  character,  his  strain  of  thought 
and  desire  ?  It  is  not  necessary  to  lay  traps  for  men, 
to  put  it  to  them  how  they  think  on  this  point  or  that 
in  order  to  discover  where  they  stand  and  what  they 
are.  Listen  and  you  will  hear  sooner  or  later  the 
Sibboleth  that  declares  the  son  of  Ephraim.  In  religious 
circles,  for  example,  men  are  found  who  appear  to  be 
quite  enthusiastic  in  the  service  of  Christianity,  eager 
for  the  success  of  the  church,  and  yet  on  some 
occasion  a  word,  an  inflexion  or  turn  of  the  voice  will 
reveal  to  the  attentive  listener  a  constant  worldliness 
of  mind,  a  worship  of  self  mingling  with  all  they  think 
and  do.  You  notice  that  and  you  can  prophesy  what 
will  come  of  it.  In  a  few  months  or  even  weeks  the 
show  of  interest  will  pass.  There  is  not  enough  praise 
or  deference  to  suit  the  egotist,  he  turns  elsewhere  to 
find  the  applause  which  he  values  above  everything. 

Again,  there  are  words  somewhat  rude,  somewhat 
coarse,  which  in  carefully  ordered  speech  a  man  may 
not  use ;  but  they  fall  from  his  lips  in  moments  of 
unguarded  freedom  or  excitement.  The  man  does  not 
speak  ''  half  in  the  language  of  Ashdod" ;  he  particularly 
avoids  it.  Yet  now  and  again  a  lapse  into  the  Philis- 
tine dialect,  a  something  muttered  rather  than  spoken 
betrays  the  secret  of  his  nature.  It  would  be  harsh  to 
condemn  any  one  as  inherently  bad  on  such  evidence. 
The  early  habits,  the  sins  of  past  years  thus  unveiled 
may  be  those  against  which  he  is  fighting  and  praying. 
Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hypocrisy  of  a  life  may 
terribly  show  itself  in  these  little  things ;  and  every  one 
will  allow  that  in  choosing  our  companions  and  friends 
we  ought  to  be  keenly  alive  to  the  slightest  indications 


xii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS.  261 

of  character.  There  are  fords  of  Jordan  to  which  we 
come  unexpectedly,  and  without  being  censorious  we 
are  bound  to  observe  those  with  whom  we  purpose  to 
travel  further. 

Here,  however,  one  of  the  most  interesting  and,  for 
our  time,  most  important  points  of  application  is  to 
be  found  in  the  self-disclosure  of  writers — those  who 
produce  our  newspapers,  magazines,  novels,  and  the 
like.  Touching  on  religion  and  on  morals  certain  of 
these  writers  contrive  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
the  kind  of  belief  that  is  popular  and  pays.  But 
now  and  again,  despite  efforts  to  the  contrary,  they 
come  on  the  Shibboleth  which  they  forget  to  pronounce 
aright.  Some  among  them  who  really  care  nothing  for 
Christianity  and  have  no  belief  whatever  in  revealed 
religion,  would  yet  pass  for  interpreters  of  religion  and 
guides  of  conduct.  Christian  morality  and  worship 
they  barely  endure;  but  they  cautiously  adjust  every 
phrase  and  reference  so  as  to  drive  away  no  reader 
and  offend  no  devout  critic  ;  that  is,  they  aim  at  doing 
so  ;  now  and  again  they  forget  themselves.  We  catch 
a  word,  a  touch  of  flippancy,  a  suggestion  of  licence, 
a  covert  sneer  which  goes  too  far  by  a  hairsbreadth. 
The  evil  lies  in  this  that  they  are  teaching  multitudes 
to  say  Sibboleth  along  with  them.  What  they  say  is  so 
pleasant,  so  deftly  said,  with  such  an  air  of  respect  for 
moral  authority  that  suspicion  is  averted,  the  very  elect 
are  for  a  time  deceived.  Indeed  we  are  almost  driven 
to  think  that  Christians  not  a  few  are  quite  ready  to 
accept  the  unbelieving  Sibboleth  from  sufficiently  dis- 
tinguished lips.  A  little  more  of  this  lubricity  and 
there  will  have  to  be  a  new  and  resolute  sifting  at  the 
fords.  The  propaganda  is  villainously  active  and  with- 
out intelligent  and  vigorous  opposition  it  will  proceed 


262  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

to  further  audacity.  It  is  not  a  few  but  scores  of 
this  sect  who  have  the  ear  of  the  public  and  even  in 
religious  publications  are  allowed  to  convey  hints  of 
earthliness  and  atheism.  A  covert  worship  of  Mammon 
and  of  Venus  goes  on  in  the  temple  professedly 
dedicated  to  Christ,  and  one  cannot  be  sure  that  a 
seemingly  pious  work  will  not  vend  some  doctrine  of 
devils.  It  is  time  for  a  slaughter  in  God's  name  of 
many  a  false  reputation. 

But  there  are  Shibboleths  of  party,  and  we  must  be 
careful  lest  in  trying  others  we  use  some  catchword 
of  our  own  Gilead  by  which  to  judge  their  religion 
or  their  virtue.  The  danger  of  the  earnest,  alike  in 
religion,  politics  and  philanthropy,  is  to  make  their 
own  favourite  plans  or  doctrines  the  test  of  all  worth 
and  belief.  Within  our  churches  and  in  the  ranks  of 
social  reformers  distinctions  are  made  where  there 
should  be  none  and  old  strifes  are  deepened.  There 
are  of  course  certain  great  principles  of  judgment. 
Christianity  is  founded  on  historical  fact  and  revealed 
truth.  "Every  spirit  which  confesseth  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God."  In  such  a 
saying  lies  a  test  which  is  no  tribal  Shibboleth.  And 
on  the  same  level  are  others  by  which  we  are  con- 
strained at  all  hazards  to  try  ourselves  and  those  who 
speak  and  write.  Certain  points  of  morality  are  vital 
and  must  be  pressed.  When  a  writer  says,  "In 
mediaeval  times  the  recognition  that  every  natural 
impulse  in  a  healthy  and  mature  being  has  a  claim 
to  gratification  was  a  victory  of  unsophisticated  nature 
over  the  asceticism  of  Christianity " — we  use  no 
Shibboleth-test  in  condemning  him.  He  is  judged  and 
found  wanting  by  principles  on  which  the  very  existence 


xii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS.  263 

of  human  society  depends.  It  is  in  no  spirit  of  bigotry 
but  in  faithfulness  to  the  essentials  of  life  and  the  hope 
of  mankind  that  the  sternest  denunciation  is  hurled 
at  such  a  man.  In  plain  terms  he  is  an  enemy  of 
the  race. 

Passing  from  cases  like  this,  observe  others  in 
which  a  measure  of  dogmatism  must  be  allowed  to 
the  ardent.  Where  there  are  no  strong  opinions 
strenuously  held  and  expressed  little  impression  will 
be  made.  The  prophets  in  every  age  have  spoken 
dogmatically  ;  and  vehemence  of  speech  is  not  to  be 
denied  to  the  temperance  reformer,  the  apostle  of 
purity,  the  enemy  of  luxurious  self-indulgence  and  cant. 
Moral  indignation  must  express  itself  strongly ;  and 
in  the  dearth  of  moral  conviction  we  can  bear  with 
those  who  would  even  drag  us  to  the  ford  and  make 
us  utter  their  SJiibboIeth.  They  go  too  far,  people  say : 
perhaps  they  do ;  but  there  are  so  many  who  will  not 
move  at  all  except  in  the  way  of  pleasure. 

Now  all  this  is  clear.  But  we  must  return  to  the 
danger  of  making  one  aspect  of  morahty  the  sole  test 
of  morals,  one  religious  idea  the  sole  test  of  religion 
and  so  framing  a  formula  by  which  men  separate 
themselves  from  their  friends  and  pass  narrow  bitter 
judgments  on  their  kinsfolk.  Let  sincere  belief  and 
strong  feeling  rise  to  the  prophetic  strain ;  let  there  be 
ardour,  let  there  be  dogmatism  and  vehemence.  But 
beyond  urgent  words  and  strenuous  example,  beyond 
the  effort  to  persuade  and  convert  there  lie  arrogance 
and  the  usurpation  of  a  judgment  which  belongs  to 
God  alone.  In  proportion  as  a  Christian  is  living  the 
life  of  Christ  he  will  repel  the  claim  of  any  other  man 
however  devout  to  force  his  opinion  or  his  action.  All 
attempts  at  terrorism  betray  a  lack  of  spirituality.     The 


264  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Inquisition  was  in  reality  the  world  oppressing  spiritual 
life.  And  so  in  less  degree,  with  less  truculence,  the 
unspiritual  element  may  show  itself  even  in  company 
with  a  fervent  desire  to  serve  the  gospel.  There  need 
be  no  surprise  that  attempts  to  dictate  to  Christendom  or 
any  part  of  Christendom  are  warmly  resented  by  those 
who  know  that  religion  and  liberty  cannot  be  separated. 
The  true  church  of  Christ  has  a  firm  grasp  of  what  it 
believes  and  is  aiming  at,  and  by  its  resoluteness  it 
bears  on  human  society.  It  is  also  gracious  and  per- 
suasive, reasonable  and  open,  and  so  gathers  men  into 
a  free  and  frank  brotherhood,  revealing  to  them  the 
loftiest  duty,  leading  them  towards  it  in  the  way  of 
liberty.  Let  men  who  understand  this  try  each 
other  and  it  will  never  be  by  limited  and  suspicious 
formulae. 

Amidst  pedants,  critics,  hot  and  bitter  partisans,  we 
see  Christ  moving  in  divine  freedom.  Fine  is  the 
subtlety  of  His  thought  in  which  the  ideas  of  spiritual 
liberty  and  of  duty  blend  to  form  one  luminous  strain. 
Fine  are  the  clearness  and  simplicity  of  that  daily  life  in 
which  He  becomes  the  way  and  the  truth  to  men.  It 
is  the  ideal  life,  beyond  all  mere  rules,  disclosing  the 
law  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  it  is  free  and  powerful 
because  upheld  by  the  purpose  that  underlies  all 
activity  and  development.  Are  we  endeavouring  to 
realize  it  ?  Scarcely  at  all  :  the  bonds  are  multiplexing 
not  falling  away ;  no  man  is  bold  to  claim  his  right, 
nor  generous  to  give  others  their  room.  In  this  age 
of  Christ  we  seem  neither  to  behold  nor  desire  His 
manhood.  Shall  this  always  be  ?  Shall  there  not 
arise  a  race  fit  for  liberty  because  obedient,  ardent, 
true  ?  Shall  we  not  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God  unto  a  perfect 


xii.  1-7.]  SHIBBOLETHS.  265 

man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fuhiess  of 
Christ  ? 

For  a  little  we  must  return  to  Jephthah,  who  after 
his  great  victory  and  his  strange  dark  act  of  faith 
judged  Israel  but  six  years.  He  appears  in  striking 
contrast  to  other  chiefs  of  his  time  and  even  of  far 
later  times  in  the  purity  of  his  home  life,  the  more 
notable  that  his  father  set  no  example  of  good.  Per- 
haps the  legacy  of  dispeace  and  exile  bequeathed  to 
him  with  a  tainted  birth  had  taught  the  Gileadite,  rude 
mountaineer  as  he  was,  the  value  of  that  order  which 
his  people  too  often  despised.  The  silence  of  the 
history  which  is  elsewhere  careful  to  speak  of  wives 
and  children  sets  Jephthah  before  us  as  a  kind  of  puritan, 
with  another  and  perhaps  greater  distinction  than  the 
desire  to  avoid  war.  The  yearly  lament  for  his 
daughter  kept  alive  the  memory  not  only  of  the  heroine 
but  of  one  judge  in  Israel  who  set  a  high  example  of 
family  life.  A  sad  and  lonely  man  he  went  those  few 
years  of  his  rule  in  Gilead,  but  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  character  and  will  of  the  Holy  One  became  more 
clear  to  him  after  he  had  passed  the  dreadful  hill  of 
sacrifice.  The  story  is  of  the  old  world,  terrible ;  yet 
we  have  found  in  Jephthah  a  sublime  sincerity,  and  we 
may  believe  that  such  a  man  though  he  never  repented 
of  his  vow  would  come  to  see  that  the  God  of  Israel 
demanded  another  and  a  nobler  sacrifice,  that  of  life 
devoted  to  His  righteousness  and  truth. 


XIX. 

THE   ANGEL    IN   THE   FIELD, 
Judges  xiii.  i-l8. 

IN  our  ignorance  not  in  our  knowledge,  in  our  blind- 
ness not  in  our  light  we  call  nature  secular  and 
think  of  the  ordinary  course  of  events  as  a  series  of 
cold  operations,  governed  by  law  and  force,  having 
nothing  to  do  with  divine  purpose  and  love.  Often- 
times we  think  so,  and  suffer  because  we  do  not  under- 
stand. It  is  a  pitiful  error.  The  natural  could  not 
exist,  there  could  be  neither  substance  nor  order  with- 
out the  over-nature  which  is  at  once  law  and  grace. 
Vitality,  movement  are  not  an  efflorescence  heralding 
decay — as  to  the  atheist ;  they  are  not  the  activity  of 
an  evil  spirit — as  sometimes  to  confused  and  falsely  in- 
structed faith.  They  are  the  outward  and  visible  action 
of  God,  the  hem  of  the  vesture  on  which  we  lay  hold 
and  feel  Him.  In  the  seen  and  temporal  there  is  a 
constant  presence  maintaining  order,  giving  purpose 
and  end.  Were  it  otherwise  man  could  not  live  an 
hour ;  even  in  selfishness  and  vileness  he  is  a  creature 
of  two  worlds  which  yet  are  one,  so  closely  are  they 
interwoven.  At  every  point  natural  and  supernatural 
are  blended,  the  higher  shaping  the  development  of  the 
lower,  accomplishing  in  and  through  the  lower  a  great 
spiritual  plan.     This  it  is  which  gives  depth  and  weight 


xiii.  1-18.]  THE  ANGEL   IN  THE  FIELD.  267 


to  our  experience,  communicating  the  dignity  of  the 
greatest  moral  and  spiritual  issues  to  the  meanest, 
darkest  human  life.  Everywhere,  always,  man  touches 
God  though  he  know  Him  not. 

No  surprise,  therefore,  is  excited  by  the  modes  of 
speech  and  thought  we  come  upon  as  we  read  Scripture. 
The  surprise  would  be  in  not  coming  upon  them.  If 
we  found  the  inspired  writers  divorcing  God  from  the 
world  and  thinking  of  "nature"  as  a  dark  chamber  of 
sin  and  torture  echoing  with  His  curse,  there  would  be 
no  profit  in  studying  this  old  volume.  Then  indeed 
we  might  turn  from  it  in  discontent  and  scorn,  even 
as  some  cast  it  aside  just  because  it  is  the  revelation 
of  God  dwelling  with  men  upon  the  earth. 

But  what  do  the  writers  of  faith  mean  when  they 
tell  of  divine  messengers  coming  to  peasants  at  labour 
in  the  fields,  speaking  to  them  of  events  common  to 
the  race — the  birth  of  some  child,  the  defeat  of  a  rival 
tribe — as  affairs  of  the  spiritual  even  more  than  of  the 
temporal  region  ?  The  narratives  simple  yet  daring 
which  affirm  the  mingling  of  divine  purpose  and  action 
with  human  life  give  us  the  deepest  science,  the  one 
real  philosophy.  Why  do  we  have  to  care  and  suffer 
for  each  other  ?  What  are  our  sin  and  sorrow  ? 
These  are  not  material  facts  ;  they  are  of  quite  another 
range.  Always  man  is  more  than  dust,  better  or  worse 
than  clay.  Human  lives  are  linked  together  in  a 
gracious  and  awful  order  the  course  of  which  is  now 
clearly  marked,  now  obscurely  traceable ;  and  if  it  were 
in  our  power  to  revive  the  history  of  past  ages,  to  mark 
the  operation  of  faith  and  unbelief  among  men,  issuing 
in  virtue  and  nobleness  on  the  one  hand,  in  vice  and 
lethargy  on  the  other,  we  should  see  how  near  heaven 
is  to  earth,  how  rational  a  thing  is  prophecy,  not  only 


268  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

as  relating  to  masses  of  men  but  to  particular  lives. 
It  is  our  stupidity  not  our  wisdom  that  starts  back 
from  revelations  of  the  over-world  as  if  they  confused 
what  would  otherwise  be  clear. 

/  In  more  than  one  story  of  the  Bible  the  motherhood 
of  a  simple  peasant  woman  is  a  cause  of  divine  com- 
munications and  supernatural  hopes.  Is  this  amazing, 
incredible  ?  What  then  is  motherhood  itself  ?  In  the 
coming  and  care  of  frail  existences,  the  strange  blending 
in  one  great  necessity  of  the  glad  and  the  severe,  the 
honourable  and  the  humiliating,  with  so  many  pos- 
sibilities of  failure  in  duty,  of  error  and  misunder- 
standing ere  the  needful  task  is  finished,  death  ever 
waiting  on  life,  and  agony  on  joy — in  all  this  do  we  not 
find  such  a  manifestation  of  the  higher  purpose  as  might 
well  be  heralded  by  words  and  signs  ?  Only  the  order 
of  God  and  His  redemption  can  explain  this  ''  nature." 
Right  in  the  path  of  atheistic  reasoners,  and  of  others 
not  atheists,  lie  facts  of  human  life  which  on  their 
theory  of  naturalism  are  simply  confounding,  too  great 
at  once  for  the  causes  they  admit  and  the  ends  they 
foresee.  And  if  reason  denies  the  possibility  of  pre- 
diction relating  to  these  facts  we  need  not  wonder. 
Without  philosophy  or  faith  .the  range  of  denial  is 
unlimited. 

From  the  quaint  and  simple  narrative  before  us  the 
imaginative  rationalist  turns  away  with  the  one  word 
— *'  myth."  His  criticism  is  of  a  sort  which  for  all  its 
ease  and  freedom  gives  the  world  nothing.  We  desire 
to  know  why  the  human  mind  harbours  thoughts  of 
the  kind,  why  it  has  ideas  of  God  and  of  a  supernatural 
order,  and  how  these  work  in  developing  the  race. 
Have  they  been  of  service  ?  Have  they  given  strength 
and  largeness  to  poor  rude  lives  and  so  proved  a  great 


xiii.  i-i8.]  THE  ANGEL   IN  THE  FIELD.  269 

reality  ?  If  so,  the  word  myth  is  inadmissible.  It  sets 
falsehood  at  the  source  of  progress  and  of  good. 

Here  are  two  Hebrew  peasants,  in  a  period  of 
Philistine  domination  more  than  a  thousand  years 
before  the  Christian  era.  Of  their  condition  we  know 
only  what  a  few  brief  sentences  can  tell  in  a  history 
concerned  chiefly  with  the  facts  of  a  divine  order  in 
which  men's  lives  have  an  appointed  place  and  use. 
It  is  certain  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  this  Danite 
family,  its  own  history  and  its  part  in  the  history  of 
Israel,  would  leave  no  difficulty  for  faith.  Belief  in  the 
fore-ordination  of  all  human  existence  and  the  constant 
presence  of  God  with  men  and  women  in  their  endur- 
ance, their  hope  and  yearning  would  be  forced  upon' 
the  most  sceptical  mind.  The  insignificance  of  the 
occasion  marked  by  a  prediction  given  in  the  name  of 
God  may  astonish  some.  But  what  is  insignificant  ? 
Wherever  divine  predestination  and  authority  extend, 
and  that  is  throughout  the  whole  universe,  nothing  can 
properly  be  called  insignificant.  The  laws  according 
to  which  material  things  and  forces  are  controlled  by 
God  touch  the  minutest  particles  of  matter,  determine 
the  shape  of  a  dew-drop  as  certainly  as  the  form  of 
a  world.  At  every  point  in  human  life,  the  birth  of 
a  child  in  the  poorest  cottage  as  well  as  of  the  heir  to 
an  empire,  the  same  principles  of  heredity,  the  same 
disposition  of  affairs  to  leave  room  for  that  life  and 
to  work  out  its  destiny  underlie  the  economy  of  the 
world. 

A  life  is  to  appear.  It  is  not  an  interposition  or 
interpolation.  No  event,  no  life  is  ever  thrust  into  an 
age  without  relation  to  the  past ;  no  purpose  is  formed 
in  the  hour  of  a  certain  prophecy.  For  Samson  as  for 
every  actor  distinguished  or  obscure  upon  the  stage  of 


270  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 


the  world  the  stars  and  the  seasons  have  co-operated 
and  all  that  has  been  done  under  the  sun  has  gone  to 
make  a  place  for  him.  One  who  knows  this  can  speak 
strongly  and  clearly.  One  who  knows  what  hinders 
and  what  is  sure  to  aid  the  fulfilment  of  a  great  destiny 
can  counsel  wisely.  And  so  the  angel  of  Jehovah,  a 
messenger  of  the  spiritual  covenant,  is  no  mere  vehicle 
of  a  prediction  he  does  not  understand.  Without 
hesitation  he  speaks  to  the  woman  in  the  field  of  what 
her  son  shall  do.  By  the  story  of  God's  dealings  with 
Israel,  by  the  experiences  of  tribe  and  family  and 
individual  soul  since  the  primitive  age,  by  the  simple 
faith  of  these  parents  that  are  to  be  and  the  honest 
energy  of  their  humble  lives  he  is  prepared  to  announce 
to  them  their  honour  and  their  duty.C  "  Thou  shalt  bear 
a  son  and  he  shall  begin  to  deliver  Israel."  )The  mes- 
senger has  had  his  preparation  of  thought,  inquiry  deep 
devout  and  pondering,  ere  he  became  fit  to  announce 
the  word  of  God.  No  seer  serves  the  age  to  which  he 
is  sent  with  that  which  costs  him  nothing,  and  here 
as  elsewhere  the  law  of  all  ministry  to  God  and  man 
must  apply  to  the  preparation  and  work  of  the  revealer. 
The  personality  of  the  messenger  was  carefully 
concealed.  "A  man  of  God  whose  countenance  was 
like  that  of  an  angel  of  God  very  terrible" — so  runs 
the  pathetic,  suggestive  description  ;  but  the  hour  was 
too  intense  for  mere  curiosity.  The  honest  mind  does 
not  ask  the  name  and  social  standing  of  a  messenger 
but  only — Does  he  speak  God's  truth?  Does  he  open 
life  ?  There  are  few  perhaps,  to-day,  who  are  simple 
and  intelligent  enough  for  this ;  few,  therefore,  to  whom 
divine  "messages  come.  It  is  the  credentials  we  are 
anxious  about,  and  the  prophet  waits  unheard  while 
people  are  demanding  his  family  and  tribe,  his  college 


xiii.  i-i8.]  THE  ANGEL  IN  THE  FIELD.  271 

and  reputation.  Are  these  satisfactory  ?  Then  they 
will  listen.  But  let  no  prophet  come  to  them  unnamed. 
Yet  of  all  importance  to  us  as  to  Manoah  and  his  wife 
are  the  message,  the  revelation,  the  announcement  of 
privilege  and  duty.  Where  that  divine  order  is  dis- 
closed which  lies  too  deep  for  our  own  discovery  but 
once  revealed  stirs  and  kindles  our  nature,  the  prophet 
needs  no  certification. 

The  child  that  was  to  be  born,  a  gift  of  God,  a  divine 
charge,  was  promised  to  these  parents.  And  in  the 
case  of  every  child  born  into  the  world  there  is  a 
divine  predestination  which  whether  it  has  been 
recognized  by  the  parents  or  not  gives  dignity  to  his 
existence  from  the  first.  There  are  natural  laws  and 
spiritual  laws,  the  gathering  together  of  energies  and 
needs  and  duties  which  make  the  life  unique,  the  care 
of  it  sacred.  It  is  a  new  force  in  the  world — a  new 
vessel,  frail  as  yet,  launched  on  the  sea  of  time.  In  it 
some  stores  of  the  divine  goodness,  some  treasures  of 
heavenly  force  are  embarked.  As  it  holds  its  way 
across  the  ocean  in  sunshine  or  shadow,  this  life  will 
be  watched  by  the  divine  eye,  breathed  gently  upon 
by  the  summer  airs  or  buffeted  by  the  storms  of  God. 
Does  heaven  mind  the  children  ?  "  In  heaven  their 
angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  My  Father." 

In  the  marvellous  ordering  of  divine  providence 
nothing  is  more  calculated  than  fatherhood  and  mother- 
hood to  lift  human  life  into  the  high  ranges  of  expe- 
rience and  feeling.  Apart  from  any  special  message 
or  revelation,  assuming  only  an  ordinary  measure  of 
thoughtfulness  and  interest  in  the  unfolding  of  life, 
there  is  here  a  new  dignity  the  sense  of  which  connects 
the  task  of  those  who  have  it  with  the  creative  energy 
of   God.      Everywhere  throughout  the   world  we    can 


272  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

trace  a  more  or  less  clear  understanding  of  this.  The 
tide  of  life  is  felt  to  rise  as  the  new  office,  the  new 
responsibility  are  grasped.     The  mother  is  become — 

"A  link  among  the  days  to  knit 
The  generations  each  to  each." 

The  father  has  a  sacred  trust,  a  new  and  nobler  duty 
to  which  his  manhood  is  entirely  pledged  in  the  sight 
of  that  great  God  who  is  the  Father  of  all  spirits, 
doubly  and  trebly  pledged  to  truth  and  purity  and 
courage.  It  is  the  coronation  of  Hfe ;  and  the  child, 
drawing  father  and  mother  to  itself,  is  rightly  the  object 
of  keenest  interest  and  most  assiduous  care. 

The  interest  lies  greatly  in  this,  that  to  the  father  and 
mother  first,  then  to  the  world  there  may  be  untold 
possibilities  of  good  in  the  existence  which  has  begun. 
Apart  from  any  prophecy  like  that  given  regarding 
Samson  we  have  truly  what  may  be  called  a  special 
promise  from  God  in  the  dawning  energy  of  every 
child-life.  By  the  cradle  surely,  if  anywhere,  hope 
sacred  and  heavenly  may  be  indulged.  With  what 
earnest  glances  will  the  young  eyes  look  by-and-by 
from  face  to  face.  With  w^hat  new  and  keen  love  will 
the  child-heart  beat.  Enlarging  its  grasp  from  year  to 
year  the  mind  will  lay  hold  on  duty  and  the  will  address 
itself  to  the  tasks  of  existence.  This  child  will  be  a 
heroine  of  home,  a  helper  of  society,  a  soldier  of  the 
truth,  a  servant  of  God.  Does  the  mother  dream  long 
dreams  as  she  bends  over  the  cradle?  Does  the 
father,  one  indeed  amongst  millions,  yet  with  his 
special  distinction  and  calling,  imagine  for  the  child 
a  future  better  than  his  own  ?  It  is  well.  By  the 
highest  laws  and  instincts  of  our  humanity  it  is  right 
and   good.      Here   men  and   women,    the  rudest  and 


xiii.  i-iS.]  THE  ANGEL   IN  THE  FIELD,  rjz 

least  taught,  live  in  the  immaterial  world  of  love, 
faith,  duty. 

We  observe  the  anxiety  of  Manoah  and  his  wife  to 
learn  the  special  method  of  training  which  should  fit 
their  child  for  his  task.  The  father's  prayer  so  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  divine  annunciation  was,  ''OLord, 
let  the  man  of  God  whom  Thou  didst  send  come  again 
unto  us  and  teach  us  what  we  shall  do  unto  the  child 
that  shall  be  born."  Conscious  of  ignorance  and  inex- 
perience, feeling  the  weight  of  responsibility,  the  parents 
desired  to  have  authoritative  direction  in  their  duty, 
and  their  anxiety  was  the  deeper  because  their  child 
was  to  be  a  deliverer  in  Israel.  In  their  home  on  the 
hillside,  where  the  cottages  of  Zorah  clustered  over- 
looking the  Philistine  plain,  they  were  frequently  dis- 
turbed by  the  raiders  who  swept  up  the  valley  of  Sorek 
from  Ashdod  and  Ekron.  They  had  often  wondered 
when  God  would  raise  up  a  deliverer  as  of  old,  some 
Deborah  or  Gideon  to  end  the  galling  oppression.  Now 
the  answer  to  many  a  prayer  and  hope  was  coming, 
and  in  their  own  home  the  hero  was  to  be  cradled. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  this  made  them  feel  the  pressure 
of  duty  and  the  need  of  wisdom.  Yet  the  prayer  of 
Manoah  was  one  which  every  father  has  need  to  present, 
though  the  circumstances  of  a  child's  birth  have  nothing 
out  of  the  most  ordinary  course. 

To  each  human  mind  are  given  powers  which  require 
special  fostering,  peculiarities  of  temperament  and 
feeling  which  ought  to  be  specially  considered.  One 
way  will  not  serve  in  the  upbringing  of  two  children. 
Even  the  most  approved  method  of  the  time,  whether 
that  of  private  tutelage  or  public  instruction,  may  thwart 
individuality ;  and  if  the  way  be  ignorant  and  rough 
the  original  faculty  will  at  its  very  springing  be  dis- 

i8 


274  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

torted.  It  is  but  the  barest  commonplace,  yet  with 
what  frequency  it  needs  to  be  urged  that  of  all  tasks 
in  the  world  that  of  the  guide  and  instructor  of  youth 
is  hardest  to  do  well,  best  worth  doing,  therefore  most 
difficult.  There  is  no  need  to  deny  that  for  the  earliest 
years  of  a  child's  life  the  instincts  of  a  loving  faithful 
mother  may  be  trusted  to  guide  her  efforts.  Yet  even 
in  those  first  years  tendencies  declare  themselves  that 
require  to  be  wisely  checked  or  on  the  other  hand 
wisely  encouraged ;  and  the  wisdom  does  not  come  by 
instinct.  A  spiritual  view  of  Hfe,  its  limitations  and 
possibihties,  its  high  calling  and  heavenly  destiny  is 
absolutely  necessary — that  vision  of  the  highest  things 
which  religion  alone  can  give.  The  prophet  comes  and 
directs  ;  yet  the  parents  must  be  prophets  too.  '*  The 
child  is  not  to  be  educated  for  the  present — for  this 
is  done  without  our  aid  unceasingly  and  powerfully — 
but  for  the  remote  future  and  often  in  opposition  to 
the  immediate  future.  .  .  .  The  child  must  be  armed 
against  the  close-pressing  present  with  a  counter- 
balancing weight  of  three  powers  against  the  three 
weaknesses  of  the  will,  of  love  and  of  religion.  .  .  . 
The  girl  and  the  boy  must  learn  that  there  is  something 
in  the  ocean  higher  than  its  waves — namely,  a  Christ 
who  calls  upon  them."^  On  the  religious  teaching  espe- 
cially which  is  given  to  children  much  depends,  and 
those  who  guide  them  should  often  begin  by  searching 
and  reconsidering  their  own  beliefs.  Many  a  promising 
life  is  marred  because  youth  in  its  wonder  and  sincerity 
was  taught  no  living  faith  in  God,  or  was  thrust  into 
the  mould  of  some  narrow  creed  which  had  more  in  it 
of  human  bigotry  than  of  divine  reason  and  love. 

*  Richter,  Levana, 


xiii.  i-i8.]  THE  ANGEL   IN  THE  FIELD.  275 

/  "What  shall  be  the  ordering  of  the  child?"  is 
Manoah's  prayer,  and  it  is  well  if  simply  expressed. 
The  child's  way  needs  ordering.  Circumstances  must 
be  understood  that  discipline  may  fit  the  young  life 
for  its  part.  In  our  own  time  this  represents  a  serious 
difficulty.  What  to  do  with  children,  how  to  order 
their  lives  is  the  pressing  question  in  thousands  of 
homes.  The  scheme  of  education  in  favour  shows  little 
insight,  little  esteem  for  the  individuality  of  children, 
which  is  of  as  much  value  in  the  case  of  the  backward 
as  of  those  who  are  lured  and  goaded  into  distinction. 
To  broaden  life,  to  give  it  many  points  of  interest  is 
well.  Yet  on  the  other  hand  how  much  depends  on 
discipline,  on  limitation  and  concentration,  the  need  of 
which  we  are  apt  to  forget.  Narrow  and  limited  was  the 
life  of  Israel  when  Samson  was  born  into  it.  The  boy 
had  to  be  what  the  nation  was,  what  Zorah  was,  what 
Manoah  and  his  wife  were.  The  limitations  of  the  time 
held  him  and  the  secluded  hfe  of  Dan  knowing  but  one 
article  of  patriotic  faith,  hatred  of  the  Philistines.  Was 
there  so  much  of  restriction  here  as  to  make  greatness 
impossible  ?  Not  so.  To  be  an  Israelite  was  to  have 
a  certain  moral  advantage  and  superiority.  It  was  not 
a  barren  solidarity,  a  dry  ground  in  which  this  new  life 
was  planted ;  the  sprout  grew  out  of  a  living  tree ; 
traditions,  laws  full  of  spiritual  power  made  an  environ- 
ment for  the  Hebrew  child.  Through  the  Hmitations, 
fenced  and  guided  by  them,  a  soul  might  break  forth  to 
the  upper  air.  It  was  not  the  narrowness  of  Israel  nor 
of  his  own  home  and  upbringing  but  the  hcence  of 
Philistia  that  weakened  the  strong  arm  and  darkened 
the  eager  soul  of  the  young  Danite.  Are  we  now  to  be 
afraid  of  limitations,  bent  on  giving  to  youth  multiform 
experience  and  the  freest  possible  access  to  the  world  ? 


276  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Do  we  dream  that  strength  will  come  as  the  stream  of 
life  is  allowed  to  wander  over  a  whole  valley,  turning 
hither  and  thither  in  a  shallow  and  shifty  bed  ?  The 
natural  parallel  here  will  instruct  us,  for  it  is  an  image 
of  the  spiritual  fact.  Strength  not  breadth  is  the  mark 
at  which  education  should  be  directed.  The  intellec- 
tually and  morally  strong  will  find  culture  waiting  them 
at  every  turn  of  the  way  and  will  know  how  to  select, 
what  to  appropriate.  In  truth  there  must  be  first  the 
moral  power  gained  by  concentration,  otherwise  all 
culture — art,  science,  literature,  travel — proves  but  a 
Barmecide  feast  at  which  the  soul  starves. 

The  special  method  of  training  for  the  child  Samson 
is  described  in  the  words,  "  He  shall  be  a  Nazirite  unto 
God."  The  mother  was  to  drink  no  strong  drink  nor 
eat  any  unclean  thing.  Her  son  was  to  be  trained  in 
the  same  rigid  abstinence;  and  always  the  sense  of 
obligation  to  Jehovah  was  to  accompany  the  austerity. 
The  hair  neither  cut  nor  shaven  but  allowed  to  grow  in 
natural  luxuriance  was  to  be  the  sign  of  the  separated 
life.  For  the  hero  that  was  to  be,  this  ascetic  purity, 
this  sacrament  of  unshorn  hair  were  the  only  things 
prescribed.  Perhaps  there  was  in  the  command  a 
reference  to  the  godless  life  of  the  Israelites,  a  protest 
against  their  self-indulgence  and  half-heathen  freedom. 
One  in  the  tribe  of  Dan  would  be  clear  of  the  sins  of 
drunkenness  and  gluttony  at  least,  and  so  far  ready  for 
spiritual  work. 

Now  it  is  notable  enough  to  find  thus  early  in  history 
the  example  of  a  rule  which  even  yet  is  not  half  under- 
stood to  be  the  best  as  well  as  the  safest  for  the  guidance 
of  appetite  and  the  development  of  bodily  strength. 
The  absurdities  commonly  accepted  by  mothers  and  by 
those  who  only  desire  some  cover  for  the  indulgence  of 


xiii.  i.i8.]  THE  ANGEL  IN  THE  FIELD.  277 

taste  are  here  set  aside.  A  hero  is  to  be  born,  one  who 
in  physical  vigour  will  distinguish  himself  above  all, 
the  Hercules  of  sacred  history.  His  mother  rigidly 
abstains,  and  he  in  his  turn  is  to  abstain  from  strong 
drink.  The  plainest  dieting  is  to  serve  both  her  and 
him — the  kind  of  food  and  drink  on  which  Daniel 
and  his  companions  throve  in  the  Chaldean  palace. 
Surely  the  lesson  is  plain.  Those  who  desire  to  excel 
in  feats  of  strength  speak  of  their  training.  It  embraces 
a  vow  like  the  Nazirites,  wanting  indeed  the  sacred 
purpose  and  therefore  of  no  use  in  the  development  of 
character.  But  let  a  covenant  be  made  with  God,  let 
simple  food  and  drink  be  used  under  a  sense  of  obliga- 
tion to  Him  to  keep  the  mind  clear  and  the  body  clean, 
and  soon  with  appetites  better  disciplined  we  should 
have  a  better  and  stronger  race. 

It  is  not  of  course  to  be  supposed  that  there  was 
nothing  out  of  the  common  in  Samson's  bodily  vigour. 
Restraint  of  unhealthy  and  injurious  appetite  was  not 
the  only  cause  to  which  his  strength  was  due.  Yet  as 
the  accompaniment  of  his  giant  energy  the  vow  has 
great  significance.  And  to  young  men  who  incline  to 
glory  in  their  strength,  and  ail  who  care  to  be  fit  for 
the  tasks  of  life  the  significance  will  be  clear.  As  for 
the  rest  whose  appetites  master  them,  who  must  have 
this  and  that  because  they  crave  it,  their  weakness 
places  them  low  as  men,  nowhere  as  examples  and 
guides.  One  would  as  soon  take  the  type  of  manly 
vigour  from  a  paralytic  as  from  one  whose  will  is  in 
subjection  to  the  cravings  of  the  flesh. 

It  soon  becomes  clear  in  the  course  of  the  history 
that  while  some  foniis  of  evil  were  fenced  off  by 
Naziritism  others  as  perilous  were  not.  The  main  part 
of  the  devotion    lay  in   abstinence,   and   that   is   not 


278  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

spiritual  life.  Here  is  one  who  from  his  birth  set 
apart  to  God  is  trained  in  manly  control  of  his  appetites. 
The  locks  that  wave  in  wild  luxuriance  about  his  neck 
are  the  sign  of  robust  physical  vigour  as  well  as  of 
consecration.  But,  strangely,  his  spiritual  education 
is  not  cared  for  as  we  might  expect.  He  is  dis- 
cipHned  and  yet  undisciplined.  He  fears  the  Lord 
and  yet  fears  Him  not.  He  is  an  Israelite  but  not  a 
true  Israelite.  Jehovah  is  to  him  a  God  who  gives 
strength  and  courage  and  blessing  in  return  for  a 
certain  measure  of  obedience.  As  the  Holy  God,  the 
true  God,  the  God  of  purity,  Samson  knows  Him  not, 
does  not  worship  Him.  Within  a  certain  limited  range 
he  hears  a  divine  voice  saying,  '^  Thou  shalt  not,"  and 
there  he  obeys.  But  beyond  is  a  great  region  in  which 
he  reckons  himself  free.  And  what  is  the  result  ?  He 
is  strong,  brave,  sunny  in  temper  as  his  name  implies. 
But  a  helper  of  society,  a  servant  of  divine  religion,  a 
man  in  the  highest  sense,  one  of  God's  free  men  Samson 
does  not  become. 

So  is  it  always.  One  kind  of  exercise,  discipline,  obe- 
dience, virtue  will  not  suffice.  We  need  to  be  temperate 
and  also  pure,  we  need  to  keep  from  self-indulgence 
but  also  from  niggardliness  if  we  are  to  be  men.  We 
have  to  think  of  the  discipline  of  mind  and  soul  as  well 
as  soundness  of  body.  He  is  only  half  a  man,  how- 
ever free  from  glaring  faults  and  vices,  who  has  not 
learned  the  unselfishness,  the  love,  the  ardour  in  holy 
and  generous  tasks  which  Christ  imparts.  To  abstain 
is  a  negative  thing;  the  positive  should  command  us 
— the  highest  manhood,  holy,  aspiring,  patient,  divine. 


XX. 

SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE. 
Judges  xiii.  24 — xiv.  20. 

OF  all  who  move  before  us  in  the  Book  of  Judges 
Samson  is  pre-eminently  the  popular  hero.  In 
rude  giant  strength  and  wild  daring  he  stands  alone 
against  the  enemies  of  Israel  contemptuous  of  their 
power  and  their  plots.  It  is  just  such  a  man  who 
catches  the  public  eye  and  lives  in  the  traditions  of  a 
country.  Most  Hebrews  of  the  time  minded  piety  and 
culture  as  little  as  did  the  Norsemen  when  they  first 
professed  Christianity.  Both  races  liked  manliness 
and  feats  of  daring  and  could  pardon  much  to  one  who 
flung  his  enemies  and  theirs  to  the  ground  with  god- 
like strength  of  arm,  and  in  the  narrative  of  Samson's 
exploits  we  trace  this  note  of  popular  estimation.  He 
is  a  singular  hero  of  faith,  quite  akin  to  those  half- 
converted  half-savage  chiefs  of  the  north  who  thought 
the  best  they  could  do  for  God  was  to  kill  His  enemies 
and  bound  themselves  by  fierce  oaths  in  the  name  of 
Christ  to  hack  and  slaughter.  For  the  separateness 
from  others,  the  isolation  which  marked  Samson's 
whole  career  the  reasons  are  evident.  His  vow  of 
Naziritism,  for  one  thing,  kept  him  apart.  Others  were 
their  own  men,  he  was  Jehovah's.  His  radiant  health 
and  uncommon  physical  energy  even  in  boyhood  were 


28o  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

to  himself  and  others  the  sign  of  a  divine  blessing 
which  maintained  his  sense  of  consecration.  While  he 
looked  on  at  the  riot  and  drunkenness  of  the  feasts 
of  his  people  he  felt  a  growing  revulsion,  nor  was  he 
pleased  with  other  indications  of  their  temper.  The 
frequent  raids  of  Philistines  from  their  walled  cities  by 
the  coast  struck  terror  far  and  wide — up  the  valleys  of 
Dan  into  the  heart  of  Judah  and  Ephraim.  Samson  as 
he  grew  up  marked  the  supineness  of  his  people  with 
wonder  and  disgust.  If  he  did  anything  for  them  it 
was  not  because  he  honoured  them  but  in  fulfilment  of 
his  destiny.  At  the  same  time  we  must  note  that  the 
hero  though  a  man  of  wit  was  not  wise.  He  did  the 
most  injudicious  things.  He  had  nothing  in  him  of  the 
diplomatist,  not  much  of  the  leader  of  men.  It  was 
only  now  and  again  when  the  mood  took  him  that  he 
cared  to  exert  himself.  So  he  went  his  own  way  an 
admired  hero,  a  lonely  giant  among  smaller  beings. 
Worst  of  all  he  was  an  easy  prey  to  some  kinds  of 
temptation.  Restrained  on  one  side,  he  gave  himself 
license  on  others ;  his  strength  was  always  undisciplined, 
and  early  in  his  career  we  can  almost  predict  how  it 
will  end.  He  ventures  into  one  snare  after  another. 
The  time  is  sure  to  come  when  he  will  fall  into  a  pit 
out  of  which  there  is  no  way  of  escape. 
/  Of  the  early  life  of  the  great  Danite  judge  there  is  no 
/record  save  that  he  grew  and  the  Lord  blessed  him. 
The  parents  whose  home  on  the  hill-side  he  filled  with 
boisterous  glee  must  have  looked  on  the  lad  with 
something  like  awe — so  different  was  he  from  others, 
so  great  were  the  hopes  based  on  his  future.  Doubtless 
they  did  their  best  for  him.  The  consecration  of  his 
life  to  God  they  deeply  impressed  on  his  mind  and 
taught  him  as  well  as  they  could  the  worship  of  the 


adii.24-xiv.20.]  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  281 

Unseen  Jehovah  in  the  sacrifice  of  lamb  or  kid  at  the 
altar,  in  prayers  for  protection  and  prosperity.  But 
nothing  is  said  of  instruction  in  the  righteousness, 
the  purity,  the  mercifulness  which  the  law  of  God 
required.  Manoah  and  his  wife  seem  to  have  made  the 
mistake  of  thinking  that  outside  the  vow  moral  educa- 
tion and  discipline  would  come  naturally,  so  far  as  they 
were  needed.  There  was  great  strictness  on  certain 
points  and  elsewhere  such  laxity  that  he  must  have 
soon  become  wilful  and  headstrong  and  somewhat  of 
a  terror  to  the  father  and  mother.  Lads  of  his  own 
age  would  of  course  adore  him  ;  as  their  leader  in 
every  bold  pastime  he  would  command  their  deference 
and  loyalty,  and  many  a  wild  thing  was  done,  we  can 
fancy,  at  which  the  people  of  the  valley  laughed 
uneasily  or  shook  their  heads  in  dismay.  He  who 
afterwards  tied  the  jackals'  tails  together  and  set  fire- 
brands between  each  pair  to  burn  the  Philistines'  corn 
must  have  served  an  apprenticeship  to  that  kind  of 
savage  sport.  Hebrew  or  alien  for  miles  round  who 
roused  the  anger  of  Samson  would  soon  learn  how 
dangerous  it  was  to  provoke  him.  Yet  a  dash  of 
generosity  always  took  the  edge  from  fiery  temper  and 
rash  revenge,  and  the  people  of  Dan,  for  their  part, 
would  allow  much  to  one  who  was  expected  to  bring 
deliverance  to  Israel.  The  wild  and  dangerous  youth 
was  the  only  champion  they  could  see. 

But  even  before  manhood  Samson  had  times  of 
deeper  feeling  than  people  in  general  would  have 
looked  for.  Boisterous  hot-blooded  impetuous  natures 
grievously  wanting  in  decorum  and  sagacity  are  not 
always  superficial ;  and  there  were  occasions  when  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  began  to  move  Samson.  He  felt 
the  purpose  of  his  vow,  saw  the  serious  work  to  which 


282  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

his  destiny  was  urging  him,  looked  down  on  the  plain 
of  the  Philistines  with  a  kindling  eye,  spoke  in  strains 
that  even  rose  to  prophetic  intensity.  At  Mahaneh- 
Dan,  the  camp  of  Dan,  where  the  more  resolute  spirits 
of  the  tribe  came  together  for  military  exercise  or  to 
repel  some  raid  of  the  enemy,  Samson  began  to  speak 
of  his  purpose  and  to  make  schemes  for  Israel's  libera- 
tion. Into  these  the  fiery  vehemence  of  the  young 
man  flowed,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  his  nature  bore 
others  along.  Can  we  be  wrong  in  supposing  that  in 
various  ways,  by  plans  often  ill-considered  he  sought 
to  harass  the  PhiHstines,  and  that  failure  as  a  leader 
in  these  left  him  somewhat  discredited  ?  Samson  was 
just  of  that  sanguine  venturesome  disposition  which 
makes  light  of  difficulties  and  is  always  courting  defeat. 
It  was  easy  for  him  with  his  immense  bodily  strength 
to  break  through  where  other  men  were  entrapped. 
A  frequent  result  of  the  frays  into  which  he  hurried 
must  have  been,  we  imagine,  to  make  his  own  friends 
doubt  him  rather  than  to  injure  the  enemy.  At  all 
events  he  became  no  commander  like  Gideon  or  Jeph- 
thah,  and  the  men  of  Judah,  if  not  of  Dan,  while  they 
acknowledged  his  calling  and  his  power,  began  to  think 
of  him  as  a  dangerous  champion. 

So  far  we  have  the  merest  hints  by  which  to  go,  but 
the  narrative  becomes  more  detailed  when  it  approaches 
the  time  of  Samson's  marriage.  A  strange  union  it  is 
for  a  hero  of  Israel.  What  made  him  think  of  going 
down  among  the  Philistines  for  a  wife  ?  How  can 
the  sacred  writer  say  that  the  thing  was  of  the  Lord  ? 
Let  us  try  to  understand  the  circumstances.  Between 
the  people  of  Zorah  and  the  villagers  of  Timnah  a  few 
miles  down  the  valley  on  the  other  side  who,  though 
Philistines,  were  presumably  not  of  the  fighting  sort 


xiii.  24-xiv.  20.j  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  283 

there  was  a  kind  of  enforced  neighbourliness.  They 
could  not  have  lived  at  all  unless  they  had  been  content; 
Philistines  for  their  part,  Hebrews  for  theirs,  to  let 
the  general  enmity  sleep.  Samson  by  observing  certain 
precautions  and  keeping  his  Hebrew  tongue  quiet  was 
safe  enough  in  Timnah,  an  object  of  fear  rather  than 
himself  in  danger.  At  the  same  time  there  may  have 
been  a  touch  of  bravado  in  his  rambles  to  the  Philistine 
settlement,  and  the  young  woman  of  whom  he  caught 
a  passing  glance,  perhaps  at  the  spring,  had  very  likely 
all  the  more  charm  for  him  that  she  was  of  the  strong 
hostile  race.  History  as  well  as  fiction  supplies  in- 
stances in  which  this  fascination  does  its  work,  family 
feuds,  oppositions  of  caste  and  religion  directing  the 
eye  and  the  fancy  instead  of  repelling.  In  his  sudden 
wilful  way  Samson  resolved,  and  his  mind  once  made 
up  no  one  in  Zorah  could  induce  him  to  alter  it 
*'  The  thing  was  of  the  Lord ;  for  he  sought  an  occasion 
against  the  Philistines."  Perhaps  Samson  thought  the 
woman  would  be  denied  to  him,  a  straight  way  to  a 
quarrel.  But  more  probably  it  is  the  outcome  of  the 
whole  pitiful  business  that  is  in  the  mind  of  the  his- 
torian. After  the  event  he  traces  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence. 

As  we  pass  with  Samson  and  his  parents  down  to 
Timnah  we  cannot  but  agree  with  Manoah  in  his 
objection,  ^'  Is  there  never  a  woman  among  the  daughters 
of  thy  brethren  or  among  all  my  people  that  thou 
goest  to  take  a  wife  of  the  uncircumcised  Philistines  ?  " 
It  was  emphatically  one  of  those  cases  in  which  liking 
should  not  have  led.  An  impetuous  man  is  not  to  be 
excused ;  much  less  those  who  claim  to  be  exceedingly 
rational  and  yet  go  against  reason  because  of  what 
they  call  love — or,  worse,   apart  from  love.     General 


2S4  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

rules  are  with  difficulty  laid  down  in  matters  of  this 
sort;  and  to  deny  the  right  of  love  would  be  the  worst 
error  of  all.  So  far  as  our  popular  writers  are  con- 
cerned, we  must  allow  that  they  wonderfully  balance 
the  claims  of  "arrangement"  and  honest  affection, 
declaring  strongly  for  the  latter.  But  yet  such  a  dif- 
ference as  between  faith  and  idolatry,  between  piety 
and  godlessness,  is  a  barrier  that  only  the  blindest  folly 
can  overleap  when  marriage  is  in  view.  (Daughters 
of  the  Philistines  may  be  "  most  divinely  fair/'  most 
graceful  and  plausible  ;  men  who  worship  Moloch  or 
Mammon  or  nothing  but  themselves  may  have  most 
persuasive  tongues  and  a  large  share  of  this  world's 
good.  But  to  mate  with  these,  whatever  liking  there 
may  be,  is  an  experiment  too  rash  for  venturing.  In 
Christian  society  now,  is  there  not  much  need  to 
repeat  old  warnings  and  revive  a  sense  of  peril  that 
seems  to  have  decayed  ?  The  conscience  of  piously 
bred  young  people  was  alive  once  to  the  danger  and 
sin  of  the  unequal  yoke.  In  the  rush  for  position  and 
means  marriage  is  being  made  by  both  sexes,  even  in 
most  religious  circles,  an  instrument  and  opportunity 
of  earthly  ambition,  and  it  must  be  said  that  foolish 
romance  is  less  to  be  feared  than  this  carefulness  in 
which  conscience  and  heart  alike  submit  to  the  imperious 
cravings  of  sheer  worldliness.  Novels  have  much  to 
answer  for ;  yet  they  can  make  one  claim — they  have 
done  something  for  simple  humanity.  We  want  more 
than  nature,  however.  Christian  teaching  must  be 
heard  and  the  Christian  conscience  must  be  re-kindled. 
The  hope  of  the  world  waits  on  that  devout  simplicity 
of  life  which  exalts  spiritual  aims  and  spiritual  comrade- 
ship and  by  its  beauty  shames  all  meaner  choice.  In 
marriage  not  only  should  heart  go  out  to  heart,   but 


xiii. 24-xiv.  20.]  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  28.'? 

mind  to  mind  and  soul  to  soul ;  and  the  spirit  of  one 
who  knows  Christ  can  never  unite  with  a  self- worshipper 
or  a  servant  of  mammon. 

Returning  to  Samson's  case,  he  would  possibly  have 
said  that  he  wished  an  adventurous  marriage,  that  to 
wed  a  Danite  woman  would  have  in  it  too  little  risk, 
would  be  too  dull,  too  commonplace  a  business  for 
him,  that  he  wanted  a  plunge  into  new  waters.  It  is 
in  this  way,  one  must  believe,  many  decide  the  great 
affair.  So  far  from  thinking  they  put  thought  away  ;  ' 
a  liking  seizes  them  and  in  they  leap.  I  Yet  in  the  best 
considered  marriage  that  can  be  made  is  there  not 
quite  enough  of  adventure  for  any  sane  man  or  woman  ? ) 
Always  there  remain  points  of  character  unknown, 
unsuspected,  possibilities  of  sickness,  trouble,  privation 
that  fill  the  future  with  uncertainty,  so  far  as  human 
vision  goes.  It  is,  in  truth,  a  serious  undertaking  for 
men  and  women,  and  to  be  entered  upon  only  with 
the  distinct  assurance  that  divine  providence  clears  the 
way  and  invites  our  advance.  Yet  again  we  are  not 
to  be  suspicious  of  each  other,  probing  every  trait  and 
habit  to  the  quick.  Marriage  is  the  great  example 
and  expression  of  the  trust  which  it  is  the  glory  of 
men  and  women  to  exercise  and  to  deserve,  the  great 
symbol  on  earth  of  the  confidences  and  unions  of 
immortahty.  Matter  of  deep  thankfulness  it  is  that  so 
many  who  begin  the  married  life  and  end  it  on  a  low 
level,  having  scarcely  a  glimpse  of  the  ideal,  though 
they  fail  of  much  do  not  fail  of  all,  but  in  some  patience, 
some  courage  and  fidelity  show  that  God  has  not  left 
them  to  nature  and  to  earth.  And  happy  are  they  who 
adventure  together  on  no  way  of  worldly  policy  or 
desire  but  in  the  pure  love  and  heavenly  faith  which 
link  their  lives  for  ever  in  binding  them  to  God. 


286  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Samson,  reasoned  with  by  his  parents,  waved  their 
objection  royally  aside  and  ordered  them  to  aid  his 
design.  It  was  necessary  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  country  that  they  should  conduct  the  negotiations 
for  the  marriage,  and  his  wilfulness  imposed  on  them 
a  task  that  went  against  their  consciences.  So  they 
found  themselves  with  the  common  reward  of  worship- 
ping parents.  They  had  toiled  for  him,  made  much  of 
him,  boasted  about  him  no  doubt ;  and  now  their  boy- 
god  turns  round  and  commands  them  in  a  thing  they 
cannot  believe  to  be  right.  They  must  choose  between 
Jehovah  and  Samson  and  they  have  to  give  up  Jehovah 
and  serve  their  own  lad.  So  David's  pride  in  Absalom 
ended  with  the  rebellion  that  drove  the  aged  father 
from  Jerusalem  and  exposed  him  to  the  contempt  of 
Israel.  It  is  good  for  a  man  to  bear  the  yoke  in  his 
youth,  the  yoke  even  of  parents  who  are  not  so  wise 
as  they  might  be  and  do  not  command  much  reverence. 
The  order  of  family  life  among  us,  involving  no  abso- 
lute bondage,  is  recognized  as  a  wholesome  discipline 
by  all  who  attain  to  any  understanding  of  life.  In 
Israel,  as  we  know,  filial  respect  and  obedience  were 
virtues  sacredly  commended,  and  it  is  one  mark  of 
Samson's  ill-regulated  self-esteeming  disposition  that 
he  neglected  the  obvious  duty  of  deference  to  the 
judgment  of  his  parents. 

On  the  way  to  Timnah  the  young  man  had  an 
adventure  which  was  to  play  an  important  part  in  his 
life.  Turning  aside  out  of  the  road  he  found  himself 
suddenly  confronted  by  a  lion  which,  doubtless  as 
much  surprised  as  he  was  by  the  encounter,  roared 
against  him.  The  moment  was  not  without  its  peril ; 
but  Samson  was  equal  to  the  emergency  and  springing 
on  the  beast  "rent  it  as  he  would  have  rent  a  kid. 


xiii.  24-xiv.  20.]  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  287 

The  affair  however  did  not  seem  worth  referring  to 
when  he  joined  his  parents,  and  they  went  on  their 
way.  It  was  as  when  a  man  of  strong  moral  principle 
and  force  meets  a  temptation  dangerous  to  the  weak, 
to  him  an  enemy  easily  overcome.  His  vigorous  truth 
or  honour  or  chastity  makes  short  work  of  it.  He 
lays  hold  of  it  and  in  a  moment  it  is  torn  in  pieces. 
The  great  talk  made  about  temptations,  the  ready  ex- 
cuses many  find  for  themselves  when  they  yield  are 
signs  of  a  feebleness  of  will  which  in  other  ranges  of 
life  the  same  persons  would  be  ashamed  to  own.  It 
is  to  be  feared  that  we  often  encourage  moral  weakness 
and  unfaithfulness  to  duty  by  exaggerating  the  force 
of  evil  influences.  Why  should  it  be  reckoned  a  feat 
to  be  honest,  to  be  generous,  to  swear  to  one's  own 
hurt  ?  Under  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
with  Christ  as  our  guide  and  stay  every  one  of  us 
should  act  boldly  in  the  encounter  with  the  lions  of 
temptation.  Tenderness  to  the  weak  is  a  Christian 
duty,  but  there  is  danger  that  young  and  old  alike, 
hearing  much  of  the  seductions  of  sin,  Httle  of  the  ready 
help  of  the  Almighty,  submit  easily  where  they  should 
conquer  and  reckon  on  divine  forbearance  when  they 
ought  to  expect  reproach  and  contempt  Our  genera- 
tion needs  to  hear  the  words  of  St.  Paul  :  *'  There  hath 
no  temptation  taken  you  but  such  as  man  can  bear  : 
but  God  is  faithful  Who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  able."  Is  there  a  tremendous  pres- 
sure constantly  urging  us  towards  that  which  is  evil  ? 
In  our  large  cities  especially  is  the  power  of  iniquity 
almost  despotic  ?  True  enough.  Yet  men  and  women 
should  be  braced  and  strengthened  by  insistence  on 
the  other  side.  In  Christian  lands  at  least  it  is  un- 
questionable   that  for  every  enticement    to   evil    there 


288  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

is  a  stronger  allurement  to  good,  that  against  every 
argument  for  immorality  ten  are  set  more  potent  in 
behalf  of  virtue,  that  where  sin  abounds  grace  does 
much  more  abound.  Young  persons  are  indeed  tempted; 
but  nothing  will  be  gained  by  speaking  to  them  or 
about  them  as  if  they  were  children  incapable  of  de- 
cision, of  whom  it  can  only  be  expected  that  they  will 
fail.  By  the  Spirit  of  God,  indeed,  all  moral  victories 
are  gained ;  the  natural  virtue  of  the  best  is  uncertain 
and  cannot  be  trusted  in  the  trying  hour,  and  he  only 
who  has  a  full  inward  life  and  earnest  Christian  pur- 
pose is  ready  for  the  test.  But  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
given.  His  sustaining,  purifjnng,  strengthening  power 
is  with  us.  We  do  not  breathe  deep,  and  then  we  com- 
plain that  our  hearts  cease  to  beat  with  holy  courage 
and  resolve. 

At  Timnah,  where  life  was  perhaps  freer  than  in  a 
Hebrew  town,  Samson  appears  to  have  seen  the  woman 
who  had  caught  his  fancy ;  and  he  now  found  her, 
Phihstine  as  she  was,  quite  to  his  mind.  It  must 
have  been  by  a  low  standard  he  judged,  and  many 
possible  topics  of  conversation  must  have  been  carefully 
avoided.  Under  the  circumstances,  indeed,  the  difficulty 
of  understanding  each  other^s  language  may  have  been 
their  safety.  Certainly  one  who  professed  to  be  a 
fearer  of  God,  a  patriotic  Israelite  had  to  shut  his 
eyes  to  many  facts  or  thrust  them  from  sight  when  he 
determined  to  wed  this  daughter  of  the  enemy.  But 
when  we  choose  we  can  do  much  in  the  way  of  keep- 
ing things  out  of  view  which  we  do  not  wish  to  see. 
Persons  who  are  at  daggers  drawn  on  fifty  points 
show  the  greatest  possible  affability  when  it  is  their 
interest  to  be  at  one.  iLove  gets  over  difficulties  and  so 
does  policy/,   Occasions  are  found  when  the  anxiously 


xiii.24-xiv,20.]  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  289 

orthodox  can  join  in  some  comfortable  compact  with 
the  agnostic,  and  the  vehement  state-churchman  with 
the  avowed  secularist  and  revolutionary.  And  it  seems 
to  be  only  when  two  are  nearly  of  the  same  creed,  with 
just  some  hairsbreadth  of  divergence  on  a  few  articles 
of  belief,  that  the  obstacles  to  happy  union  are  apt  to 
become  insurmountable.  Then  every  word  is  watched, 
each  tone  noted  with  suspicion.  It  is  not  between 
Hebrew  and  Philistine  but  between  Ephraim  and 
Judah  that  alliances  are  difficult  to  form.  We  hope 
for  the  time  when  the  long  and  bitter  disputes  of 
Christendom  shall  be  overcome  by  love  of  truth  and 
God.  Yet  first  there  must  be  an  end  to  the  strange 
reconcihngs  and  unions  which  like  Samson's  marriage 
often  confuse  and  obstruct  the  way  of  Christian  people. 
There  is  an  interval  of  some  months  after  the  marriage 
has  been  arranged  and  the  bridegroom  is  on  his  way 
once  more  down  the  valley  to  Timnah.  As  he  passes 
the  scene  of  his  encounter  with  the  lion  he  turns 
aside  to  see  the  carcase  and  finds  that  bees  have  made 
it  their  home.  Vultures  and  ants  have  first  found  it  and 
devoured  the  flesh,  then  the  sun  has  thoroughly  dried 
the  skin  and  in  the  hollow  of  the  ribs  the  bees  have 
settled.  At  considerable  risk  Samson  possesses  him- 
self of  some  of  the  combs  and  goes  on  eating  the 
honey,  giving  a  portion  also  to  his  father  and  mother. 
It  is  again  a  type,  and  this  time  of  the  sweetness  to 
be  found  in  the  recollection  of  virtuous  energy  and  over- 
coming. Not  that  we  are  to  be  always  dwelling  on 
our  faithfulness  even  for  the  purpose  of  thanking  God 
Who  gave  us  moral  strength.  But  when  circumstances 
recall  a  trial  and  victory  it  is  surely  matter  of  proper 
joy  to  remember  that  here  we  were  strong  enough  to  be 
true,  and  there  to  be  honest  and  pure  when  the  odds 

19 


290  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

seemed  to  be  against  us.  The  memories  of  a  good 
man  or  good  woman  are  sweeter  than  the  honeycomb, 
though  tempered  often  by  sorrow  over  the  human 
instruments  of  evil  who  had  to  be  struggled  with  and 
thrust  aside  in  the  sharp  conflict  with  sin  and  wrong. 
Very  few  in  youth  or  middle-life  seem  to  think  of 
this  joy,  which  makes  beautiful  many  a  worn  and  aged 
face  on  earth  and  will  not  be  the  least  element  in  the 
felicity  of  heaven.  Too  often  we  bear  burdens  because 
we  must ;  we  are  dragged  through  trial  and  distress  to 
comparative  quiet ;  we  do  not  comprehend  what  is  at 
stake,  what  we  may  do  and  gain,  what  we  are  kept 
from  losing ;  and  so  the  look  across  our  past  has  none 
of  the  glow  of  triumph,  Httle  of  the  joy  of  harvest. 
For  man's  blessedness  is  not  to  be  separated  from 
personal  striving.  In  fidelity  he  must  sow  that  he  may 
reap  in  strength,  in  courage  that  he  may  reap  in  glad- 
ness. He  is  made  not  for  mere  success,  not  for  mere 
safety,  but  for  overcoming. 

We  are  not  finished  with  the  lion ;  he  next  appears 
covertly,  in  a  riddle.  Samson  has  shown  himself  a 
strong  man ;  now  we  hear  him  speak  and  he  proves  a 
wit.  It  is  the  wedding  festival,  and  thirty  young  men 
have  been  gathered — to  honour  the  bridegroom,  shall 
we  say  ? — or  to  watch  him  ?  Perhaps  from  the  first 
there  has  been  suspicion  in  the  Philistine  mind,  and 
it  seems  necessary  to  have  as  many  as  thirty  to  one  in 
order  to  overawe  Samson.  In  the  course  of  the  feast 
there  might  be  quarrels,  and  without  a  strong  guard 
on  the  Hebrew  youth  Timnah  might  be  in  danger.  As 
the  days  went  by  the  company  fell  to  proposing  riddles 
and  Samson,  probably  annoyed  by  the  Philistines  who 
watched  every  movement,  gave  them  his,  on  terms  quite 
fair,  3"et  leaving  more  than  a  loophole  for  discontent 


xiii.  24-xiv.  20.]  SAMSON  PLUNGING  INTO  LIFE.  291 

and  strife.  In  the  conditions  we  see  the  man  perfectly 
self-rehant,  full  of  easy  superiority,  courting  danger 
and  defying  envy.  The  thirty  may  win — if  they  can.  In 
that  case  he  knows  how  he  will  pay  the  forfeit.  *'  Put 
forth  thy  riddle,"  they  said,  "  that  we  may  hear  it ; " 
and  the  strong  mellow  Hebrew  voice  chanted  the 
puzzhng  verse  : 

"  Out  of  the  eater  came  forth  meat ; 
Out  of  the  strong  came  forth  sweetness," 

Now  in  itself  this  is  simply  a  curiosity  of  old-world 
table-talk.  It  is  preserved  here  mainly  because  of  its 
bearing  on  following  events ;  and  certainly  the  state- 
ment which  has  been  made  that  it  contained  a  gospel 
for  the  Philistines  is  one  we  cannot  endorse.  Yet 
like  many  witty  sayings  the  riddle  has  a  range  of 
meaning  far  wider  than  Samson  intended.  Adverse 
influences  conquered,  temptation  mastered,  difficulties 
overcome,  the  struggle  of  faithfulness  will  supply 
us  not  only  with  happy  recollections  but  also  with 
arguments  against  infidelity,  with  questions  that  con- 
found the  unbeliever.  One  who  can  glory  in  tribulations 
that  have  brought  experience  and  hope,  in  bonds  and 
imprisonments  that  have  issued  in  a  keener  sense  of 
liberty,  who  having  nothing  yet  possesses  all  things — 
such  a  man  questioning  the  denier  of  divine  provi- 
dence cannot  be  answered.  Invigoration  has  come 
out  of  that  which  threatened  life  and  joy  out  of  that 
which  made  for  sorrow.  The  man  who  is  in  covenant 
with  God  is  helped  by  nature ;  its  forces  serve  him  ; 
he  is  fed  with  honey  from  the  rock  and  with  the  finest 
of  the  wheat.  When  out  of  the  mire  of  trouble  and 
the  deep  waters  of  despondency  he  comes  forth  braver, 
more  hopeful,  strongly  confident  in  the  love  of  God, 


292  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

sure  of  the  eternal  foundation  of  life,  what  can  be  said 
in  denial  of  the  power  that  has  filled  him  with  strength 
and  peace  ?  Here  is  an  argument  that  can  be  used 
by  every  Christian,  and  ought  to  be  in  every  Christian's 
hand.  Out  of  his  personal  experience  each  should  be 
able  to  state  problems  and  put  inquiries  unanswerable 
by  unbelief.  For  unless  there  is  a  living  God  Whose 
favour  is  life,  Whose  fellowship  inspires  and  ennobles  the 
soul,  the  strength  which  has  come  through  weakness, 
the  hope  that  sprang  up  in  the  depth  of  sorrow  cannot 
be  accounted  for.  There  are  natural  sequences  in 
which  no  mystery  lies.  When  one  who  has  been 
defamed  and  injured  turns  on  his  enemy  and  pursues 
him  in  revenge,  when  one  who  has  been  defeated  sinks 
back  in  languor  and  waits  in  pitiful  inaction  for  death, 
these  are  results  easily  traced  to  their  cause.  But  the 
man  of  faith  bears  witness  to  sequences  of  a  different 
kind.  His  fellows  have  persecuted  him,  and  he  cares 
for  them  still.  Death  has  bereaved  him,  and  he  can 
smile  in  its  face.  Afflictions  have  been  multiplied  and 
he  glories  in  them.  The  darkness  has  fallen  and  he 
rejoices  more  than  in  the  noontide  of  prosperity.  Out 
of  the  eater  has  come  forth  meat,  out  of  the  strong  has 
come  forth  sweetness.  ^^  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall 
into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone ;  but  if  it  die, 
it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  The  paradox  of  the 
life  of  Christ  thus  stated  by  Himself  is  the  supreme 
instance  of  that  demonstration  of  divine  power  which 
the  history  of  every  Christian  should  clearly  and  con- 
stantly support. 


XXI. 

DAUNTLESS  IN  BATTLE,   IGNORANTLY  BRAVE. 
Judges  xv. 

GIVEN  a  man  of  strong  passions  and  uninstructed 
conscience,  wild  courage  and  giant  energy,  with 
the  sense  of  a  mission  which  he  has  to  accompHsh 
against  his  country's  enemies  so  that  he  reckons 
himself  justified  in  doing  them  injury  or  killing  them 
in  the  name  of  God,  and  you  have,  no  complete  hero, 
but  a  real  and  interesting  man.  Such  a  character, 
however,  does  not  command  our  admiration.  The 
enthusiasm  we  feel  in  tracing  the  career  of  Deborah 
or  Gideon  fails  us  in  reviewing  these  stories  of  revenge 
in  which  the  Hebrew  champion  appears  as  cruel  and 
reckless  as  an  uncircumcised  Philistine.  When  we  see 
Samson  leaving  the  feast  by  which  his  marriage  has 
been  celebrated  and  marching  down  to  Ashkelon  where 
in  cold  blood  he  puts  thirty  men  to  death  for  the  sake 
of  their  clothing,  when  we  see  a  country-side  ablaze 
with  the  standing  corn  which  he  has  kindled,  we  are  as 
indignant  with  him  as  with  the  Philistines  when  they 
burn  his  wife  and  her  father  with  fire.  Nor  can  we 
find  anything  like  excuse  for  Samson  on  the  ground 
of  zeal  in  the  service  of  pure  religion.  Had  he  been 
a  fanatical  Hebrew  mad  against  idolatry  his  conduct 
might   find    some   apology ;  but   no   such   clue   offers. 


294  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 


The  Danite  is  moved  chiefly  by  selfish  and  vain 
passions,  and  his  sense  of  official  duty  is  all  too  weak 
and  vague.  We  see  little  patriotism  and  not  a  trace 
of  religious  fervour.  He  is  serving  a  great  purpose 
with  some  sincerity,  but  not  wisely,  not  generously  nor 
greatly,  i  Samson  is  a  creature  of  impulse  working  out 
his  life  in  blind  almost  animal  fashion,  perceiving  the 
next  thing  that  is  to  be  done  not  in  the  light  of  rehgion 
or  duty,  but  of  opportunity  and  revenge.  The  first  of 
his  acts  against  the  Philistines  was  no  promising  start 
in  a  heroic  career,  and  almost  at  every  point  in  the 
story  of  his  life  there  is  something  that  takes  away 
our  respect  and  sympathy.  But  the  life  is  full  of  moral 
suggestion  and  warning.  He  is  a  real  and  striking 
example  of  the  wild  Berserker  type. 

I.  For  one  thing  this  stands  out  as  a  clear  principle 
that  a  man  has  his  life  to  live,  his  work  to  do,  alone 
if  others  will  not  help,  imperfectly  if  not  in  the  best 
fashion,  half-wrongly  if  the  right  cannot  be  clearly  seen. 
This  world  is  not  for  sleep,  is  not  for  inaction  and 
sloth.  ^'Whatsoever  thy  hand  finds  to  do,  do  it  with 
thy  might."  A  thousand  men  in  Dan,  ten  thousand  in 
Judah  did  nothing  that  became  men,  sat  at  home  while 
their  grapes  and  olives  grew,  abjectly  sowed  and  reaped 
their  fields  in  dread  of  the  Philistines,  making  no 
attempt  to  free  their  country  from  the  hated  yoke. 
Samson,  not  knowing  rightly  how  to  act,  did  go  to 
work  and,  at  any  rate,  lived.  Among  the  dull  spiritless 
Israelites  of  the  day,  three  thousand  of  whom  actually 
came  on  one  occasion  to  beseech  him  to  give  himself 
up  and  bound  him  with  ropes  that  he  might  be  safely 
passed  over  to  the  enemyj(^Samson  with  all  his  faults 
looks  like  a  man.)  Those  men  of  Dan  and  Judah  would 
slay  the  Philistines  if  they  dared.     It  is   not  because 


XV.]  DAUNTLESS  IN  BATTLE,  IGNORANTLY  BRA  VE.  295 

they  are  better  than  Samson  that  they  do  not  go  down 
to  Ashkelon  and  kill.  Their  consciences  do  not  keep 
them  back ;  it  is  their  cowardice.  One  who  with 
some  vision  of  a  duty  owing  to  his  people  goes  forth 
and  acts,  contrasts  well  with  these  chicken-hearted 
thousands. 

We  are  not  at  present  stating  the  complete  motive 
of  human  activity  nor  setting  forth  the  ideal  of  life.  To 
that  we  shall  come  afterwards.  But  before  you  can 
have  ideal  action  you  must  have  action.  Before  you 
can  have  life  of  a  fine  and  noble  type  you  must  have 
life.  Here  is  an  absolute  primal  necessity ;  and  it  is 
the  key  to  both  evolutions,  the  natural  and  the  spiritual. 
First  the  human  creature  must  find  its  power  and 
capabilit}'  and  must  use  these  to  some  end,  be  it  even 
a  wrong  end,  rather  than  none ;  after  this  the  ideal  is 
caught  and  proper  moral  activity  becomes  possible. 
We  need  not  look  for  the  full  corn  in  the  ear  till 
the  seed  has  sprouted  and  grown  and  sent  its  roots 
well  into  the  soil.  With  this  light  the  roll  of  Hebrew 
fame  is  cleared  and  we  can  trace  freely  the  growth  of 
life.  The  heroes  are  not  perfect;  they  have  perhaps 
barely  caught  the  light  of  the  ideal ;  but  they  have 
strength  to  will  and  to  do,  they  have  faith  that  this 
power  is  a  divine  gift,  and  they  having  it  are  God's 
pioneers. 

The  need  is  that  men  should  in  the  first  instance  live 
so  that  they  may  be  faithful  to  their  calling.  Deborah  ' 
looking  round  beheld  her  country  under  the  sore; 
oppression  of  Jabin,  saw  the  need  and  answered  to  it. 
Others  only  vegetated  ;  she  rose  up  in  human  stature 
resolute  to  live.  That  also  was  what  Gideon  began  to 
do  when  at  the  divine  call  he  demolished  the  altar  on 
the  height  of  Ophrah  ;  and  Jephthah  fought  and  endured 


296  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

by  the  same  law.  So  soon  as  men  begin  to  live  there 
is  hope  of  them. 

Now  the  hindrances  to  life  are  these — first,  slothful- 
ness,  the  disposition  to  drift,  to  let  things  go ;  second, 
fear,  the  restriction  imposed  on  effort  of  body  or  of 
mind  by  some  opposing  force  ingloriously  submitted 
to ;  third,  ignoble  dependence  on  others.  The  proper 
life  of  man  is  never  reached  by  many  because  they  are 
too  indolent  to  win  it.  To  forecast  and  devise,  to  try 
experiments,  pushing  out  in  this  direction  and  that  is 
too  much  for  them.  Some  opportunity  for  doing  more 
and  better  lies  but  a  mile  away  or  a  few  yards  ;  they 
see  but  will  not  venture  upon  it.  Their  country  is 
sinking  under  a  despot  or  a  weak  and  foolish  govern- 
ment ;  they  do  nothing  to  avert  ruin,  things  will  last 
their  time.  Or  again,  their  church  is  stirred  with 
throbs  of  a  new  duty,  a  new  and  keen  anxiety  ;  but 
they  refuse  to  feel  any  thrill,  or  feeling  it  a  moment  they 
repress  the  disturbing  influence.  They  will  not  be 
troubled  with  moral  and  spiritual  questions,  calls  to 
action  that  make  life  severe,  high,  heroic.  Often  this 
is  due  to  want  of  physical  or  mental  vigour.  Men  and 
women  are  overborne  by  the  labour  required  of  them, 
the  weary  tale  of  bricks.  Even  from  youth  they  have 
had  burdens  to  bear  so  heavy  that  hope  is  never 
kindled.  But  there  are  many  who  have  no  such  excuse. 
Let  us  alone,  they  say,  we  have  no  appetite  for  exertion, 
for  strife,  for  the  duties  that  set  life  in  a  fever.  The 
old  ways  suit  us,  we  will  go  on  as  our  fathers  have 
gone.  The  tide  of  opportunity  ebbs  away  and  they 
are  left  stranded. 

Next,  and  akin,  there  is  fear,  the  mood  of  those  who 
hear  the  calls  of  life  but  hear  more  clearly  the  threaten- 
ings  of  sense  and  time.     Often  it  comes  in  the  form  of 


XV.]  DAUNTLESS  IN  BATTLE,  IGNORANTLY BRAVE.  297 

a  dread  of  change,  apprehension  as  regards  the  unknown 
seas  on  which  effort  or  thought  would  launch  forth. 
Let  us  be  still,  say  the  prudent  ;  better  to  bear  the 
ills  we  have  than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of. 
Are  we  ground  down  by  the  Philistines  ?  Better  suffer 
than  be  killed.  Are  our  laws  unjust  and  oppressive  ? 
Better  rest  content  than  risk  revolution  and  the  up- 
turning of  everything.  Are  we  not  altogether  sure  of  the 
basis  of  our  belief  ?  Better  leave  it  unexamined  than 
begin  with  inquiries  the  end  of  which  cannot  be  fore- 
seen. Besides,  they  argue,  God  means  us  to  be  content. 
Our  lot  in  the  world  however  hard  is  of  His  giving  ; 
the  faith  we  hold  is  of  His  bestowing.  Shall  we  not 
provoke  Him  to  anger  if  we  move  in  revolution  or  in 
inquiry.  Still  it  is  life  they  lose.  A  man  who  does  not 
think  about  the  truths  he  rests  on  has  an  impotent 
mind.  One  who  does  not  feel  it  laid  on  him  to  go 
forward,  to  be  brave,  to  make  the  world  better  has  an 
impotent  soul.  Life  is  a  constant  reaching  after  the 
unattained  for  ourselves  and  for  the  world. 

And  lastly  there  is  ignoble  dependence  on  others. 
So  many  will  not  exert  themselves  because  they  wait 
for  some  one  to  come  and  lift  them  up.  They  do  not 
think,  nor  do  they  understand  that  instruction  brought 
to  them  is  not  life.  No  doubt  it  is  the  plan  of  God 
to  help  the  many  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  few,  a 
whole  nation  or  world  by  one.  Again  and  again  we 
have  seen  this  illustrated  in  Hebrew  history,  and  else- 
where the  fact  constantly  meets  us.  There  is  one 
Luther  for  Europe,  one  Cromwell  for  England,  one 
Knox  for  Scotland,  one  Paul  for  early  Christianity. 
But  at  the  same  time  it  is  because  life  is  wanting, 
because  men  have  the  deadly  habit  of  dependence  that 
the  hero  must  be  brave  for  them  and  the  reformer  must 


298  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

break  their  bonds.  The  true  law  of  life  on  all  levels, 
from  that  of  bodily  effort  upwards,  is  self-help  ;  without 
it  there  is  only  an  infancy  of  being.  He  who  is  in  a 
pit  must  exert  himself  if  he  is  to  be  delivered.  He  who 
is  in  spiritual  darkness  must  come  to  the  light  if  he  is 
to  be  saved. 

Now  we  see  in  Samson  a  man  who  in  his  degree 
lived.  He  had  strength  like  the  strength  of  ten ;  he 
had  also  the  consecration  of  his  vow  and  the  sense  of 
a  divine  constraint  and  mandate.  These  things  urged 
him  to  life  and  made  activity  necessary  to  him.  He 
might  have  reclined  in  careless  ease  like  many  around. 
But  sloth  did  not-  hold  him  nor  fear.  He  wanted  no 
man's  countenance  nor  help.  He  lived.  His  mere 
exertion  of  power  was  the  sign  of  higher  possibilities. 

Live  at  all  hazards,  imperfectly  if  perfection  is  not 
attainable,  half-wrongly  if  the  right  cannot  be  seen. 
Is  this  perilous  advice?  From  one  point  of  view  it 
may  seem  very  dangerous.  For  many  are  energetic  in 
so  imperfect  a  way,  in  so  blundering  and  false  a  way 
that  it  might  appear  better  for  them  to  remain  quiet, 
practically  dead  than  degrade  and  darken  the  life  of  the 
race  by  their  mistaken  or  immoral  vehemence.  You 
read  of  those  traders  among  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
who,  afraid  that  their  nefarious  traffic  should  suffer  if 
missionary  work  succeeded,  urged  the  natives  to  kill 
the  missionaries  or  drive  them  away,  and  when  they 
had  gained  their  end  quickly  appeared  on  the  scene  to 
exchange  for  the  pillaged  stores  of  the  mission-house 
muskets  and  gunpowder  and  villainous  strong  drink. 
May  it  not  be  said  that  these  traders  were  living  out 
their  lives  as  much  as  the  devoted  teachers  who  had 
risked  everything  for  the  sake  of  doing  good  ?  Napo- 
leon I.,  when  the  scheme  of  empire  presented  itself  to 


XV.]  DA  UNTLESS  IN  BA  TTLE,  IGNORANTL  Y  BRA  VE.  299 

him  and  all  his  energies  were  bent  on  climbing  to  the 
summit  of  affairs  in  France  and  in  Europe — was  not  he 
living  according  to  a  conception  of  what  was  greatest 
and  best  ?  Would  it  not  have  been  better  if  those 
traders  and  the  ambitious  Corsican  alike  had  been 
content  to  vegetate — inert  and  harmless  through  their 
days  ?  And  there  are  multitudes  of  examples.  The 
poet  Byron  for  one — could  the  world  not  well  spare 
even  his  finest  verse  to  be  rid  of  his  unlawful  energy 
in  personal  vice  and  in  coarse  profane  word  ? 

One  has  to  confess  the  difficulty  of  the  problem,  the 
danger  of  praising  mere  vigour.  Yet  if  there  is  risk  on 
the  one  side  the  risk  on  the  other  is  greater :  and  truth 
demands  risk,  defies  peril.  It  is  unquestionable  that 
any  family  of  men  when  it  ceases  to  be  enterprising 
and  energetic  is  of  no  more  use  in  the  economy  of 
things.  Its  land  is  a  necropolis.  The  dead  cannot 
praise  God.  The  choice  is  between  activity  that 
takes  many  a  wrong  direction,  hurrying  men  often 
towards  perdition,  yet  at  every  point  capable  of  re- 
demption, and  on  the  other  hand  inglorious  death,  that 
existence  which  has  no  prospect  but  to  be  swallowed 
up  of  the  darkness.  And  while  such  is  the  common 
choice  there  is  also  this  to  be  noted  that  inertness  is 
not  certainly  purer  than  activity  though  it  may  appear 
so  merely  by  contrast.  The  active  life  compels  us  to 
judge  of  it ;  the  other  a  mere  negation  calls  for  no 
judgment,  yet  is  in  itself  a  moral  want,  an  evil  and 
injury.  Conscience  being  unexercised  decay  and  death 
rule  all. 

Men  cannot  be  saved  by  their  own  effort  and  vigour. 
Most  true.  But  if  they  make  no  attempt  to  advance 
towards  strength,  dominion  and  fulness  of  existence, 
they  are  the  prey  of  force  and  evil.     Nor  will  it  suffice 


300  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

that  they  simply  exert  themselves  to  keep  body  and 
soul  together.  The  life  is  more  than  meat.  We  must 
toil  not  only  that  we  may  continue  to  subsist,  but  for 
personal  distinctness  and  freedom.  Where  there  are 
strong  men,  resolute  minds,  earnestness  of  some  kind, 
there  is  soil  in  which  spiritual  seed  may  strike  root. 
The  dead  tree  can  produce  neither  leaf  nor  flower.  In 
short,  if  there  is  to  be  a  human  race  at  all  for  the 
divine  glory  it  can  only  be  in  the  divine  way,  by  the 
laws  that  govern  existence  of  every  degree. 

2,  We  come,  however,  to  the  compensating  principle 
of  responsibility — the  law  of  Duty  which  stands  over 
energy  in  the  range  of  our  life.  No  man,  no  race  is 
justified  by  force  or  as  we  sometimes  say  by  doing.  It 
is  faith  that  saves.  Samson  has  the  rude  material  of 
life;  but  though  his  action  were  far  purer  and  nobler 
it  could  not  make  him  a  spiritual  man  :  his  heart  is  not 
purged  of  sin  nor  set  on  God. 

Granted  that  the  time  was  rough,  chaotic,  cloudy, 
that  the  idea  of  injuring  the  Philistines  in  every  possible 
way  was  imposed  on  the  Danite  by  his  nation's  abject 
state,  that  he  had  to  take  what  means  lay  in  his  power 
for  accomplishing  the  end.  But  possessed  of  energy 
he  was  deficient  in  conscience,  and  so  failed  of  noble 
life.  This  may  be  said  for  him  that  he  did  not  turn 
against  the  men  of  Judah  who  came  to  bind  him  and 
give  him  up.  Within  a  certain  range  he  understood 
his  responsibility.  But  surely  a  higher  life  than  he 
lived,  better  plans  than  he  followed  were  possible  to 
one  who  could  have  learned  the  will  of  God  at  Shiloh, 
who  was  bound  to  God  by  a  vow  of  purity  and  had 
that  constant  reminder  of  the  Holy  Lord  of  Israel.  It 
is  no  uncommon  thing  for  men  to  content  themselves 
/   with  one  sacrament,  one  observance  which  is  reckoned 


XV.]  DAUNTLESS  IN  BATTLE,  IGNORANTL  Y  BRA  VE.  301 

enough  for  salvation — honesty  in  business,  abstinence 
from  strong  drink,  attendance  on  church  ordinances. 
This  they  do  and  keep  the  rest  of  existence  for  un- 
restrained self-pleasing,  as  though  salvation  lay  in  a 
restraint  or  a  form.  But  whoever  can  think  is  bound 
to  criticise  life,  to  try  his  own  life,  to  seek  the  way  of 
salvation,  and  that  means  being  true  to  the  best  he 
knows  and  can  know,  it  means  believing  in  the  will 
of  God.  Something  higher  than  his  own  impulse  is 
to  guide  him.  He  is  free,  yet  responsible.  His 
activity,  however  great,  has  no  real  power,  no  vindica- 
tion unless  it  falls  in  with  the  course  of  divine  law 
and  purpose.     He  lives  by  faith. 

Generally  there  is  one  clear  principle  which,  if  a  man 
held  to  it,  would  keep  him  right  in  the  main.  It  may 
not  be  of  a  very  high  order,  yet  it  will  prepare  the  way 
for  something  better  and  meanwhile  serve  his  need. 
And  for  Samson  one  simple  law  of  duty  was  to  keep 
clear  of  all  private  relations  and  entanglements  with 
the  Philistines.  There  was  nothing  to  hinder  him  from 
seeing  that  to  be  safe  and  right  as  a  rule  of  Hfe.  They 
were  Israel's  enemies  and  his  own.  He  should  have 
been  free  to  act  against  them :  and  when  he  married 
a  daughter  of  the  race  he  forfeited  as  an  honourable 
man  the  freedom  he  ought  to  have  had  as  a  son  of 
Israel.  Doubtless  he  did  not  understand  fully  the  evil 
of  idolatry  nor  the  divine  law  that  Hebrews  were  to 
keep  themselves  separate  from  the  worshippers  of 
false  gods.  Yet  the  instincts  of  the  race  to  which  he 
belonged,  fidelity  to  his  forefathers  and  compatriots 
made  their  claim  upon  him.  There  was  a  duty  too 
which  he  owed  to  himself.  As  a  brave  strong  man 
he  was  discredited  by  the  line  of  action  which  he  fol- 
lowed. vHis  honour  lay  in   being  an  open  enemy  to 


302  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

the  Philistines,  his  dishonour  in  making  underhand 
excuses  for  attacking  themT^  It  was  base  to  seek  occa- 
sion against  them  when  ne  married  the  woman  at 
Timnah,  and  from  one  act  of  baseness  he  went  on  to 
others  because  of  that  first  error.  And  chiefly  Samson 
failed  in  his  fidelity  to  God.  Scarcely  ever  was  the 
name  of  Jehovah  dragged  through  the  mire  as  it  was 
by  him.  The  God  of  truth,  the  divine  guardian  of 
faithfulness,  the  God  who  is  light,  in  Whom  is  no  dark- 
ness at  all,  was  made  by  Samson's  deeds  to  appear  as 
the  patron  of  murder  and  treachery.  We  can  hardly 
allow  that  an  Israelite  was  so  ignorant  of  the  ordinary 
laws  of  morality  as  to  suppose  that  faith  need  not  be 
kept  with  idolaters ;  there  were  traditions  of  his  people 
which  prevented  such  a  notion.  One  who  knew  of 
Abraham's  dealings  with  the  Hittite  Ephron  and  his 
rebuke  in  Egypt  could  not  imagine  that  the  Hebrew 
lay  under  no  debt  of  human  equity  and  honour  to  the 
Philistine.  Are  there  men  among  ourselves  who  think 
no  faithfulness  is  due  by  the  civilised  to  the  savage  ? 
Are  there  professed  servants  of  Christ  who  dare  to 
suggest  that  no  faith  need  be  kept  with  heretics  ? 
They  reveal  their  own  dishonour  as  men,  their  own 
falseness  and  meanness.  The  primal  duty  of  intelligent 
and  moral  beings  cannot  be  so  dismissed.  And  even 
Samson  should  have  been  openly  the  Philistines'  enemy 
or  not  at  all.  If  they  were  cruel,  rapacious,  mean,  he 
ought  to  have  shown  that  Jehovah's  servant  was  of 
a  different  stamp.  We  cannot  beheve  morality  to  have 
been  at  so  low  an  ebb  among  the  Hebrews  that  the 
popular  leader  did  not  know  better  than  he  acted.  He 
became  a  judge  in  Israel,  and  his  judgeship  would  have 
been  a  pretence  unless  he  had  some  of  the  justice,  truth 
and  honour  which  God  demanded  of  men.     Beginning 


XV.]  DA  UNTLESS  IN  BA  TTLE,  IGNORANTL  V  BRA  VM.  303 

in  a  very  mistaken  way  he  must  have  risen  to  a  higher 
conception  of  duty,  otherwise  his  rule  would  have  been 
a  disaster  to  the  tribes  he  governed. 

Conscience  has  originated  in  fear  and  is  to  decay 
with  ignorance,  say  some.  Already  that  extraordinary 
piece  of  folly  has  been  answered.  Conscience  is  the 
correlative  of  power,  the  guide  of  energy.  If  the  one 
decays,  so  must  the  other.  Living  strongly,  energetic- 
ally, making  experiments,  seeking  liberty  and  dominion, 
pressing  towards  the  higher  we  are  ever  to  acknowledge 
the  responsibility  which  governs  life.  By  what  we 
know  of  the  divine  will  we  are  to  order  every  purpose 
and  scheme  and  advance  to  further  knowledge.  There 
are  victories  we  might  win,  there  are  methods  by  which 
we  might  harass  those  who  do  us  wrong.  One  voice 
says  Snatch  the  victories,  go  down  by  night  and  injure 
the  foe,  insinuate  what  you  cannot  prove,  while  the 
sentinels  sleep  plunge  your  spear  through  the  heart  of 
a  persecuting  Saul.  But  another  voice  asks.  Is  this 
the  way  to  assert  moral  life  ?  Is  this  the  line  for  a 
man  to  take  ?  The  true  man  swears  to  his  own  hurt, 
suffers  and  is  strong,  does  in  the  f^ce  of  day  what  he 
has  it  in  him  to  do  and,  if  he  fails,  dies  a  true  man 
still.  He  is  not  responsible  for  obeying  commands  of 
which  he  is  ignorant,  nor  for  mistakes  which  he  cannot 
avoid.  One  like  Samson  is  clean-handed  in  what  it 
would  be  unutterably  base  for  us  to  do.  But  close  beside 
every  man  are  such  guiding  ideas  as  straightforward- 
ness, sincerity,  honesty.  Each  of  us  knows  his  duty  so 
far  and  cannot  deceive  himself  by  supposing  that  God 
will  excuse  him  in  acting,  even  for  what  he  counts  a 
good  end,  as  a  cheat  and  a  hypocrite.  In  politics  the 
rule  is  as  clear  as  in  companionship,  in  war  as  in  love. 

It  has  not  been  asserted  that  Samson  was  without 


304  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

a  sense  of  responsibility.  He  had  it,  and  kept  his  vow. 
He  had  it,  and  fought  against  the  Philistines.  He  did 
some  brave  things  openly  and  like  a  man.  He  had  a 
vision  of  Israel's  need  and  God's  will.  Had  this  not 
been  true  he  could  have  done  no  good ;  the  whole 
strength  of  the  hero  would  have  been  wasted.  But 
he  came  short  of  effecting  what  he  might  have  effected 
just  because  he  was  not  wise  and  serious.  His  strokes 
missed  their  aim.  In  truth  Samson  never  went  earnestly 
about  the  task  of  delivering  Israel.  In  his  fulness  of 
power  he  was  always  half  in  sport,  making  random 
shots,  indulging  his  own  humour.  And  we  may  find  in 
his  career  no  inapt  illustration  of  the  careless  way  in 
which  the  conflict  with  the  evils  of  our  time  is  carried 
on.  With  all  the  rage  for  societies  and  organizations 
there  is  much  haphazard  activity,  and  the  fanatic  for 
rule  has  his  contrast  in  the  free-lance  who  hates  the 
thought  of  responsibility.  A  curious  charitableness  too 
confuses  the  air.  There  are  men  who  are  full  of  ardour 
to-day  and  strike  in  with  some  hot  scheme  against  social 
wrongs,  and  the  next  day  are  to  be  seen  sitting  at  a  feast 
with  the  very  persons  most  to  blame  under  some  pretext 
of  finding  occasion  against  them  or  showing  that  there 
is  "nothing  personal."  This  perplexes  the  whole  cam- 
paign. It  is  usually  mere  bravado  rather  than  charity, 
a  mischief  not  a  virtue. 

Israel  must  be  firm  and  coherent  if  it  is  to  win  liberty 
from  the  Philistines.  Christians  must  stand  by  each 
other  steadily  if  they  are  to  overcome  infidelity  and 
rescue  the  slaves  of  sin.  The  feats  of  a  man  who  holds 
aloof  from  the  church  because  he  is  not  willing  to  be 
bound  by  its  rules  count  for  little  in  the  great  warfare 
of  the  age.  Many  there  are  among  our  literary  men, 
politicians  and  even  philanthropists  who  strike  in  now 


XV.]  DAUNTLESS  IN  BATTLE,  IGNORANTLY  BRAVE.  30^ 


and  again  in  a  Christian  way  and  with  unquestionably 
Christian  purpose  against  the  bad  institutions  and  social 
evils  of  our  time,  but  have  no  proper  basis  or  aim 
of  action  and  maintain  towards  Christian  organizations 
and  churches  a  constant  attitude  of  criticism.  Samson- 
like they  make  showy  random  attacks  on  "bigotry," 
"inconsistency"  and  the  like.  It  is  not  they  who  will 
deliver  man  from  hardness  and  worldliness  of  soul ;  not 
they  who  will  bring  in  the  reign  of  love  and  truth. 

3.  Looking  at  Samson's  efforts  during  the  first  part 
of  his  career  and  observing  the  want  of  seriousness  and 
wisdom  that  marred  them,  we  may  say  that  all  he  did 
was  to  make  clear  and  deep  the  cleft  between  Philistines 
and  Hebrews.  When  he  appears  on  the  scene  there 
are  signs  of  a  dangerous  intermixture  of  the  two  races, 
and  his  own  marriage  is  one.  The  Hebrews  were  appa- 
rently inclined  to  settle  down  in  partial  subjection  to  the 
Philistines  and  make  the  best  they  could  of  the  situation, 
hoping  perhaps  that  by-and-by  they  might  reach  a 
state  of  comfortable  alliance  and  equality.  Samson 
may  have  intended  to  end  that  movement  or  he  may 
not.  But  he  certainly  did  much  to  end  it.  After  the 
first  series  of  his  exploits,  crowned  by  the  slaughter  at 
Lehi,  there  was  an  open  rupture  with  the  PhiHstines 
which  had  the  best  effect  on  Hebrew  morals  and  religion. 
It  was  clear  that  one  Israelite  had  to  be  reckoned  with 
whose  strong  arm  dealt  deadly  blows.  The  Philistines 
drew  away  in  defeat.  The  Hebrews  learned  that  they 
needed  not  to  remain  in  any  respect  dependent  or  afraid. 
This  kind  of  division  grows  into  hatred ;  but,  as  things 
were,  dislike  was  Israel's  safety.  The  Philistines  did 
harm  as  masters  ;  as  friends  they  would  have  done  even 
more.  Enmity  meant  revulsion  from  Dagon- worship 
and  all  the  social  customs  of  the  opposed  race.    For  this 

20 


3o6  THE  BOOK  OF  fUDGES. 

the  Hebrews  were  indebted  to  Samson  ;  and  although 
he  was  not  himself  true  all  along  to  the  principle  of 
separation,  yet  in  his  final  act  he  emphasized  it  so 
by  destroying  the  temple  of  Gaza  that  the  lesson  was 
driven  home  beyond  the  possibihty  of  being  forgotten. 

It  is  no  slight  service  those  do  who  as  critics  of 
parties  and  churches  show  them  clearly  where  they 
stand,  who  are  to  be  reckoned  as  enemies,  what  alliances 
are  perilous.  There  are  many  who  are  exceedingly 
easy  in  their  beliefs,  too  ready  to  yield  to  the  Zeit  Geist 
that  w^ould  obliterate  definite  belief  and  with  it  the 
vigour  and  hope  of  mankind.  Alliance  with  Philistines 
is  thought  of  as  a  good,  not  a  risk,  and  the  whole  of  a 
party  or  church  may  be  so  comfortably  settling  in  the 
new  breadth  and  freedom  of  this  association  that  the 
certain  end  of  it  is  not  seen.  Then  is  the  time  for  the 
resolute  stroke  that  divides  party  from  party,  creed 
from  creed.  A  reconciler  is  the  best  helper  of  religion 
at  one  juncture;  at  another  it  is  the  Samson  who 
standing  alone  perhaps,  frowned  on  equally  by  the 
leaders  and  the  multitude,  makes  occasion  to  kindle 
controversy  and  set  sharp  variance  between  this  side 
and  that.  Luther  struck  in  so.  His  great  act  was  one 
that  "rent  Christendom  in  twain."  Upon  the  Israel 
which  looked  on  afraid  or  suspicious  he  forced  the  division 
which  had  been  for  centuries  latent.  Does  not  our  age 
need  a  new  divider  ?  You  set  forth  to  testify  against 
Phihstines  and  soon  find  that  half  your  acquaintances 
are  on  terms  of  the  most  cordial  friendship  with  them, 
and  that  attacks  upon  them  which  have  any  point  are 
reckoned  too  hot  and  eager  to  be  tolerated  in  society. 
To  the  few  who  are  resolute  duty  is  made  difficult  and 
protest  painful :  the  reformer  has  to  bear  the  sins  and 
even  the  scorn  of  many  who  should  appear  with  him. 


XXII. 

PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN  GAZA, 
Judges  xvi.  I-3. 

BY  courage  and  energy  Samson  so  distinguished 
himself  in  his  own  tribe  and  on  the  Philistine 
border  that  he  was  recognized  as  judge.  Government 
of  any  kind  was  a  boon,  and  he  kept  rude  order,  as 
much  perhaps  by  overawing  the  restless  enemy  as  by 
administering  justice  in  Israel.  Whether  the  period  of 
twenty  years  assigned  to  Samson's  judgeship  inter- 
vened between  the  fight  at  Lehi  and  the  visit  to  Gaza  we 
cannot  tell.  The  chronology  is  vague,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected in  a  narrative  based  on  popular  tradition.  Most 
likely  the  twenty  years  cover  the  whole  time  during 
which  Samson  was  before  the  public  as  hero  and 
acknowledged  chief. 

Samson  went  down  to  Gaza,  which  was  the  principal 
Philistine  city  situated  near  the  Mediterranean  coast 
some  forty  miles  from  Zorah.  For  what  reason  did  he 
venture  into  that  hostile  place?  It  may,  of  course, 
have  been  that  he  desired  to  learn  by  personal  inspec- 
tion what  was  its  strength,  to  consider  whether  it 
might  be  attacked  with  any  hope  of  success ;  and  if 
that  was  so  we  would  be  disposed  to  justify  him.  As 
the  champion  and  judge  of  Israel  he  could  not  but  feel 
the  danger  to  which  his  people  were  constantly  exposed 


3o8  7^HE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

from  the  Philistine  power  so  near  to  them  and  in  those 
days  always  becoming  more  formidable.  He  had  to  a 
certain  extent  secured  deliverance  for  his  country  as 
he  was  expected  to  do ;  but  deliverance  was  far  from 
complete,  could  not  be  complete  till  the  strength  of  the 
enemy  was  broken.  At  great  risk  to  himself  he  may 
have  gone  to  play  the  spy  and  devise,  if  possible,  some 
plan  of  attack.  In  this  case  he  would  be  an  example 
of  those  who  with  the  best  and  purest  motives,  seeking 
to  carry  the  war  of  truth  and  purity  into  the  enemy's 
country,  go  down  into  the  haunts  of  vice  to  see  what 
men  do  and  how  best  the  evils  that  injure  society  may 
be  overcome.  There  is  risk  in  such  adventure ;  but  it 
is  nobly  undertaken,  and  even  if  we  do  not  feel  disposed 
to  imitate  we  must  admire.  Bold  servants  of  Christ 
may  feel  constrained  to  visit  Gaza  and  learn  for  them- 
selves what  is  done  there.  Beyond  this  too  is  a  kind 
of  adventure  which  the  whole  church  justifies  in  pro- 
portion to  its  own  faith  and  zeal.  We  see  St.  Paul 
and  his  companions  in  Ephesus,  in  Philippi,  in  Athens 
and  other  heathen  towns,  braving  the  perils  which 
threaten  them  there,  often .  attacked,  sometimes  in  the 
jaws  of  death,  heroic  in  the  highest  sense.  And  we  see 
the  modern  missionary  with  like  heroism  landing  on 
savage  coasts  and  at  the  constant  risk  of  life  teaching 
the  will  of  God  in  a  sublime  confidence  that  it  shall 
awaken  the  most  sunken  nature ;  a  confidence  never 
at  fault. 

But  we  are  obliged  to  doubt  whether  Samson  had  in 
view  any  scheme  against  the  Philistine  power ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  he  was  on  no  mission  for  the  good  of 
Gaza.  Of  a  patriotic  or  generous  purpose  there  is  no 
trace;  the  motive  is  unquestionably  of  a  different  kind. 
From  his  youth  this  man  was  restless,  adventurous,  ever 


xvi.  1-3.]        PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN   GAZA,  309 

craving  some  new  excitement  good  or  bad.  He  could 
do  anything  but  quietly  pursue  a  path  of  duty  ;  and  in 
the  small  towns  of  Dan  and  the  valleys  of  Judah  he 
had  little  to  excite  and  interest  him.  There  life  went 
on  in  a  dull  way  from  year  to  year,  without  gaiety, 
bustle,  enterprise.  Had  the  chief  been  deeply  interested 
in  religion,  had  he  been  a  reformer  of  the  right  kind  he 
would  have  found  opportunity  enough  for  exertion 
and  a  task  into  which  he  might  have  thrown  all  his 
force.  There  were  heathen  images  to  break  in  pieces, 
altars  and  high-places  to  demolish.  To  banish  Baal- 
worship  and  the  rites  of  Ashtoreth  from  the  land,  to 
bring  the  customs  of  the  people  under  the  law  of 
Jehovah  would  have  occupied  him  fully.  But  Samson 
did  not  inchne  to  any  such  doings  ;  he  had  no  passion 
for  reform.  We  never  see  in  his  life  one  such  moment 
as  Gideon  and  Jephthah  knew  of  high  religious  daring. 
Dark  hours  he  had,  sombre  enough,  as  at  Lehi  after 
the  slaughter.  But  his  was  the  melancholy  of  a  life 
without  aim  sufficient  to  its  strength,  without  a  vision 
matching  its  energy.  To  suffer  for  God's  cause  is  the 
rarest  of  joys  and  that  Samson  never  knew  though  he 
was  judge  in  Israel. 

We  imagine  then  that  in  default  of  any  excite- 
ment such  as  he  craved  in  the  towns  of  his  own  land 
he  turned  his  eyes  to  the  Philistine  cities  which  pre- 
sented a  marked  contrast.  There  life  was  energetic 
and  gay,  there  many  pleasures  were  to  be  had.  New 
colonists  v/ere  coming  in  their  swift  ships  and  the 
streets  presented  a  scene  of  constant  animation.  The 
strong  eager  man,  full  of  animal  passion,  found  the  life 
he  craved  in  Gaza  where  he  mingled  with  the  crowds 
and  heard  tales  of  strange  existence.  Nor  was  there 
wanting  the  opportunity  for  enjoyment  which  at  home 


3IO  THE  BOOK  OF  /UDGES. 

he  could  not  indulge.  Beyond  the  critical  observation 
of  the  elders  of  Dan  he  could  take  his  fill  of  sensual 
pleasure.  Not  without  danger  of  course.  In  some 
brawl  the  Philistines  might  close  upon  him.  But  he 
trusted  to  his  strength  to  escape  from  their  hands,  and 
the  risk  increased  the  excitement.  We  must  suppose 
that,  having  seen  the  nearer  and  less  important  towns 
such  as  Ekron,  Gath  and  Ashkelon  he  now  ventured  to 
Gaza  in  quest  of  amusement,  in  order,  as  people  say,  to 
see  the  world. 

A  constant  peril  this  of  seeking  excitement,  especially 
in  an  age  of  high  civilization.  The  means  of  variety 
and  stimulus  are  multiplied,  and  ever  the  craving 
outruns  them,  a  craving  yielded  to,  with  little  or  no 
resistance,  by  many  who  should  know  better.  The 
moral  teacher  must  recognize  the  desire  for  variety  and 
excitement  as  perhaps  the  chief  of  all  the  hindrances  he 
has  now  to  overcome.  For  one  who  desires  duty  there 
are  scores  who  find  it  dull  and  tame  and  turn  from  it, 
without  sense  of  fault,  to  the  gaieties  of  civilized  society 
in  which  there  is  ^'nothing  wrong"  as  they  say,  or  at 
least  so  little  of  the  positively  wrong  that  conscience  is 
easily  appeased.  The  religious  teacher  finds  the  demand 
for  "  brightness  "  and  variety  before  him  at  every  turn  ; 
he  is  indeed  often  touched  by  it  himself  and  follows 
with  more  or  less  of  doubt  a  path  that  leads  straight 
from  his  professed  goal.  ''  Is  amusement  deviUsh  ?  " 
asks  one.  Most  people  reply  with  a  smile  that  life 
must  be  lively  or  it  is  not  worth  having.  And  the 
Philistinism  that  attracts  them  with  its  dash  and  gaudi- 
ness  is  not  far  away  nor  hard  to  reach.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  go  across  to  the  Continent  where  the 
brilliance  of  Vienna  or  Paris  offers  a  contrast  to  the 
grey  dulness  of  a  country  village  ;  nor  even  to  London 


xvi.  1-3.]        PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN  GAZA.  311 

where  amid  the  lures  of  the  midnight  streets  there  is 
peril  of  the  gravest  kind.  Those  who  are  restless  and 
foolhardy  can  find  a  Gaza  and  a  valley  of  Sorek  nearer 
home,  in  the  next  market  town.  Philistine  Hfe,  lax  in 
morals,  full  of  rattle  and  glitter,  heat  and  change,  in 
gambling,  in  debauchery,  in  sheer  audacity  of  move- 
ment and  talk,  presents  its  allurements  in  our  streets, 
has  its  acknowledged  haunts  in  our  midst.  Young 
people  brought  up  to  fear  God  in  quiet  homes  whether 
of  town  or  country  are  enticed  by  the  whispered  coun- 
sels of  comrades  half  ashamed  of  the  things  they  say, 
yet  eager  for  more  companionship  in  what  they  secretly 
know  to  be  folly  or  worse.  Young  women  are  the  prey 
of  those  who  disgrace  manhood  and  womanhood  by 
the  offers  they  make,  the  insidious  lies  they  tell.  The 
attraction  once  felt  is  apt  to  master.  As  the  current 
that  rushes  swiftly  bears  them  with  it  they  exult  in  the 
rapid  motion  even  while  life  is  nearing  the  fatal  cataract. 
Subtle  is  the  progress  of  infidelity.  From  the  per- 
suasion that  enjoyment  is  lawful  and  has  no  peril  in 
it  the  mind  quickly  passes  to  a  doubt  of  the  old  laws 
and  warnings.  Is  it  so  certain  that  there  is  a  reward 
for  purity  and  unworldliness  ?  Is  not  all  the  talk  about 
a  life  to  come  a  jangle  of  vain  words  ?  The  present  is 
a  reality,  death  a  certainty,  life  a  swiftly  passing  posses- 
sion. They  who  enjoy  know  what  they  are  getting. 
The  rest  is  dismissed  as  altogether  in  the  air. 

With  Samson,  as  there  was  less  of  faith  and  law  to 
fling  aside,  there  was  less  hardening  of  heart.  He  was 
half  a  heathen  always,  more  conscious  of  bodily  than  of 
moral  strength,  rehant  on  that  which  he  had,  indisposed 
to  seek  from  God  the  holy  vigour  which  he  valued 
little.  At  Gaza  where  moral  weakness  endangered 
life  his  well-knit  muscles  released  him.     We  see  him 


312  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

among  the  Philistines  entrapped,  apparently  in  a  posi- 
tion from  which  there  is  no  escape.  The  gate  is  closed 
and  guarded.  In  the  morning  he  is  to  be  seized  and 
killed.  But  aware  of  his  danger,  his  mind  not  put  com- 
pletely off  its  balance  as  yet  by  the  seductions  of  the 
place,  he  arises  at  midnight  and,  plucking  the  doors  of 
the  city-gate  from  their  sockets  carries  them  to  the  top 
of  a  hill  which  fronts  Hebron. 

Here  is  represented  what  may  at  first  be  quite 
possible  to  one  who  has  gone  into  a  place  of  temptation 
and  danger.  There  is  for  a  time  a  power  of  resolution 
and  action  which  when  the  peril  of  the  hour  is  felt  may 
be  brought  into  use.  Out  of  the  house  which  is  like 
the  gate  of  hell,  out  of  the  hands  of  vile  tempters 
it  is  possible  to  burst  in  quick  decision  and  regain 
liberty.  In  the  valley  of  Sorek  it  may  be  otherwise, 
but  here  the  danger  is  pressing  and  rouses  the  will. 
Yet  the  power  of  rising  suddenly  against  temptation, 
of  breaking  from  the  company  of  the  impure  is  not 
to  be  reckoned  on.  It  is  not  of  ourselves  we  can  be 
strong  and  resolute  enough,  but  of  grace.  And  can 
a  man  expect  divine  succour  in  a  harlot's  den  ?  He 
thinks  he  may  depend  upon  a  certain  self-respect,  a 
certain  disgust  at  vile  things  and  dishonourable  life. 
But  vice  can  be  made  to  seem  beautiful,  it  can  over- 
come the  aversion  springing  from  self-respect  and  the 
best  education.  In  the  history  of  one  and  another  of 
the  famous  and  brilliant,  from  the  god-like  youth  of 
Macedon  to  the  genius  of  yesterday  the  same  unutter- 
ably sad  lesson  is  taught  us  ;  we  trace  the  quick  descent 
of  vice.  Self-respect  ?  Surely  to  Goethe,  to  George 
Sand,  to  Musset,  to  Burns  that  should  have  remained, 
a  saving  salt.  But  it  is  clear  that  man  has  not  the 
power  of  preserving    himself.     While  he  says  in  his 


xvi.  1-3.]        PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN  GAZA.  313 

heart,  That  is  beneath  me  ;  I  have  better  taste ;  I  shall 
never  be  guilty  of  such  a  low,  false  and  sickening  thing 
— he  has  already  committed  himself. 

Samson  heard  the  trampling  of  feet  in  the  streets  and 
was  warned  of  physical  danger.  When  midnight  came 
he  lost  no  time.  But  he  was  too  late.  The  liberty  he 
regained  was  not  the  liberty  he  had  lost.  Before  he 
entered  that  house  in  Gaza,  before  he  sat  down  in  it, 
before  he  spoke  to  the  woman  there  he  should  have 
fled.  (He  did  not ;  and  in  the  valley  of  Sorek  his 
strength  of  will  is  not  equal  to  the  need/  Delilah  1 
beguiles  him,  tempts  him,  presses  him  with  her  wiles. 
He  is  infatuated ;  his  secret  is  told  and  ruin  comes. 

Moral  strength,  needful  decision  in  duty  to  self  and 
society  and  God — few  possess  these  because  few  have 
the  high  ideal  before  them,  and  the  sense  of  an  obliga- 
tion which  gathers  force  from  the  view  of  eternity. 
We  live,  most  of  us,  in  a  very  limited  range  of  time. 
We  think  of  to-morrow  or  the  day  beyond ;  we  think 
of  years  of  health  and  joy  in  this  world,  rarely  of  the 
boundless  after-life.  To  have  a  stain  upon  the  cha- 
racter, a  blunted  moral  sense,  a  scar  that  disfigures  the 
mind  seems  of  little  account  because  we  anticipate  but 
a  temporary  reproach  or  inconvenience.  To  be  defiled, 
blinded,  maimed  for  ever,  to  be  incapacitated  for  the 
labour  and  joy  of  the  higher  world  does  not  enter  into 
our  thought.  And  many  who  are  nervously  anxious  to 
appear  well  in  the  sight  of  men  are  shameless  when 
God  only  can  see.  Moral  strength  does  not  spring  out 
of  such  imperfect  views  of  obligation.  What  availedl 
Samson's  fidelity  to  the  Nazirite  vow  when  by  anotherj 
gate  he  let  in  the  foe  ? 

The  common  kind  of  religion  is  a  vow  which  covers 
two  or  three  points  of  duty  only.     The  value  and  glory 


314  THE  BOOK   OF  JUDGES. 

of  the  religion  of  the  Bible  are  that  it  sets  us  on  our 
guard  and  strengthens  us  against  everything  that  is 
dangerous  to  the  soul  and  to  society.  Suppose  it  were 
asked  wherein  our  strength  lies,  what  would  be  the 
answer?  Say  that  one  after  another  stood  aside  con- 
scious of  being  without  strength  until  one  was  found 
willing  to  be  tested.  Assume  that  he  could  say,  I  am 
temperate,  I  am  pure;  passion  never  masters  me  :  so 
far  the  account  is  good.  You  hail  him  as  a  man  of 
moral  power,  capable  of  serving  society.  But  you  have 
to  inquire  further  before  you  can  be  satisfied.  You 
have  to  say,  Some  have  had  too  great  liking  for  money. 
Francis  Bacon,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  notable  in 
the  first  rank  of  philosophers,  took  bribes  and  was  con- 
victed upon  twenty-three  charges  of  corruption.  Are 
you  proof  against  covetousness  ?  because  if  you  can  be 
tempted  by  the  glitter  of  gold  reliance  cannot  be  placed 
upon  you.  And  again  it  must  be  asked  of  the  man — 
Is  there  any  temptress  who  can  wind  you  about  her 
fingers,  overcome  your  conscientious  scruples,  wrest 
from  you  the  secret  you  ought  to  keep  and  make  you 
break  your  covenant  with  God,  even  as  Delilah  over- 
came Samson  ?  Because,  if  there  is,  you  are  weaker 
than  a  vile  woman  and  no  dependence  can  be  placed 
upon  you.  We  learn  from  history  what  this  kind  of 
temptation  does.  We  see  one  after  another,  kings, 
statesmen,  warriors  who  figure  bravely  upon  the  scene 
for  a  time,  their  country  proud  of  them,  the  best  hopes 
of  the  good  centred  in  them,  suddenly  in  the  midst  of 
their  career  falling  into  pitiable  weakness  and  covering 
themselves  with  disgrace.  (Like  Samson  they  have 
loved  some  woman  in  the  valley  of  Sorek)  In  the  life 
of  to-day  instances  of  the  same  pitiable  kind  occur  in 
every  rank  and  class.     The  shadow  falls  on  men  who 


xvi.  1-3.]        PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN  GAZA.  315 

held  high  places  in  society  or  stood  for  a  time  as  pillars 
in  the  house  of  God. 

Or,  taking  another  case,  one  may  be  able  to  say,  I 
am  not  avaricious,  I  have  fidelity,  I  would  not  desert  a 
friend  nor  speak  a  falsehood  for  any  bribe  ;  I  am  pure  ; 
for  courage  and  patriotism  you  may  rely  upon  me : — 
here  are  surely  signs  of  real  strength.  Yet  that  man 
may  be  wanting  in  the  divine  faithfulness  on  which 
every  virtue  ultimately  depends.  With  all  his  good 
qualities  he  may  have  no  root  in  the  heavenly,  no 
spiritual  faith,  ardour,  decision.  Let  him  have  great 
opposition  to  encounter,  long  patience  to  maintain, 
generosity  and  self-denial  to  exercise  without  prospect 
of  quick  reward — and  will  he  stand  ?  In  the  final  test 
nothing  but  fidelity  to  the  Highest,  tried  and  sure 
fidelity  to  God  can  give  a  man  any  right  to  the  confi- 
dence of  others.  That  chain  alone  which  is  welded 
with  the  fire  of  holy  consecration,  devotion  of  heart 
and  strength  and  mind  to  the  will  of  God  is  able  to 
bear  the  strain.  If  we  are  to  fight  the  battles  of  fife 
and  resist  the  urgency  of  its  temptations  the  whole 
divine  law  as  Christ  has  set  it  forth  must  be  our 
Nazirite  vow  and  we  must  count  ourselves  in  respect  of 
every  obligation  the  bondmen  of  God.  Duty  must  not 
be  a  matter  of  self-respect  but  of  ardent  aspiration. 
The  way  of  our  life  may  lead  us  into  some  Gaza  full  of 
enticements,  into  the  midst  of  those  who  make  light 
of  the  names  we  revere  and  the  truths  we  count  most 
sacred.  Prosperity  may  come  with  its  strong  tempta- 
tions to  pride  and  vainglory.  If  we  would  be  safe  it 
must  be  in  the  constant  gratitude  to  God  of  those  who 
feel  the  responsibility  and  the  hope  that  are  kindled  at 
the  cross,  as  those  who  have  died  with  Christ  and  now 
live  with  Him  unto  God.     In  this  redeemed  life  it  may 


3i6  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

be  almost  said  there  is  no  temptation ;  the  earthly 
ceases  to  lure,  gay  shows  and  gauds  cease  to  charm 
the  soul.  There  still  are  comforts  and  pleasures  in 
God's  world,  but  they  do  not  enchain.  A  vision  of  the 
highest  duty  and  reality  overshines  all  that  is  trivial 
and  passing.  And  this  is  life — the  fulness,  the  charm, 
the  infinite  variety  and  strength  of  being.  "  How  can 
he  that  is  dead  to  the  world  live  any  longer  therein  ?  " 
Yet  he  lives  as  he  never  did  before. 

In  the  experience  of  Samson  in  the  valley  of  Sorek 
we  find  another  warning.  JWe  learn  the  persistence 
with  which  spiritual  enemies  pursue  those  whom  they 
mark  for  their  prey.  ^  It  has  been  said  that  the  adver- 
saries of  good  are  always  most  active  in  following  the 
best  men  with  their  persecutions.  This  we  take  leave 
to  deny.  It  is  when  a  man  shows  some  weakness, 
gives  an  opportunity  for  assault  that  he  is  pressed  and 
hunted  as  a  wounded  lion  by  a  tribe  of  savages.  The 
occasion  was  given  to  the  Philistines  by  Samson's 
infatuation.  Had  he  been  a  man  of  stern  purity  they 
would  have  had  no  point  of  attack.  But  Delilah  could 
be  bribed.  The  lords  of  the  Philistines  offered  her  a 
large  sum  to  further  their  ends,  and  she,  a  willing  in- 
strument, pressed  Samson  with  her  entreaties.  Baffled 
again  and  again  she  did  not  rest  till  the  reward  was 
won. 

We  can  easily  see  the  madness  of  the  man  in  treating 
lightly,  as  if  it  were  a  game  he  was  sure  to  win,  the 
solicitations  of  the  adventuress.  "  The  Philistines  be 
upon  thee,  Samson" — again  and  again  he  heard  that 
threat  and  laughed  at  it.  The  green  withes,  the  new 
ropes  with  which  he  was  bound  were  snapped  at  will. 
Even  when  his  hair  was  woven  into  the  web  he  could 
go  away  with  web  and  beam  and  the  pin  with  whicli 


xvi.  1-3.]        PLEASURE  AND  PERIL  IN  GAZA.  317 

they  had  been  fixed  to  the  ground.  But  if  he  had  been 
aware  of  what  he  was  doing  how  could  he  have  failed 
to  see  that  he  was  approaching  the  fatal  capitulation, 
that  wiles  and  blandishments  were  gaining  upon  him  ? 
When  he  allowed  her  to  tamper  with  the  sign  of  his 
vow  it  was  the  presage  of  the  end. 

So  it  often  is.  The  wiles  of  the  spirit  of  this  world 
are  woven  very  cunningly.  First  the  "  over-scrupu- 
lous "  observance  of  religious  ordinances  is  assailed. 
The  tempter  succeeds  so  far  that  the  Sabbath  is  made 
a  day  of  pleasure  :  then  the  cry  is  raised,  "  The  Philis- 
tines be  upon  thee."  But  the  man  only  laughs.  He 
feels  himself  quite  strong  as  yet,  able  for  any  moral 
task.  Another  lure  is  framed — gambling,  drinking.  It 
is  yielded  to  moderately,  a  single  bet  by  way  of  sport, 
one  deep  draught  on  some  extraordinary  occasion. 
He  who  is  the  object  of  persecution  is  still  self-confi- 
dent. He  scorns  the  thought  of  danger.  A  prey  to 
gambling,  to  debauchery  ?  He  is  far  enough  from  that. 
But  his  weakness  is  discovered.  Satanic  profit  is  to 
be  made  out  of  his  fall ;  and  he  shall  not  escape. 

It  is  true  as  ever  it  was  that  the  friendship  of  the 
world  is  a  snare.  When  the  meshes  of  time  and  sense 
close  upon  us  we  may  be  sure  that  the  end  aimed  at 
is  our  death.  The  whole  world  is  a  valley  of  Sorek  to 
weak  man,  and  at  every  turn  he  needs  a  higher  than 
himself  to  guard  and  guide  him.  He  is  indeed  a 
Samson,  a  child  in  morals,  though  full-grown  in  muscle. 
There  are  some  it  is  true  who  are  able  to  help,  who 
if  they  were  beside  in  the  hour  of  peril  would  inter- 
pose with  counsel  and  warning  and  protection.  But 
a  time  comes  to  each  of  us  when  he  has  to  go  alone 
through  the  dangerous  streets.  Then  unless  he  holds 
straight  forward,  looking  neither  to  right  hand  nor  left, 


3i8  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

pressing  towards  the  mark,  his  weakness  will  be  quickly 
detected,  that  secret  tendency  scarcely  known  to  him- 
self by  which  he  can  be  most  easily  assailed.  Nor 
will  it  be  forgotten  if  once  it  has  been  discovered.  It 
is  now  the  property  of  a  legion.  Be  it  vanity  or 
avarice,  ambition  or  sensuousness,  the  Philistines  know 
how  to  gain  their  end  by  means  of  it.  There  is  strength 
inaeed  to  be  had.  The  weakest  may  become  strong, 
able  to  face  all  the  tempters  in  the  world  and  to  pass 
unscathed  through  the  streets  of  Gaza  or  the  crowds 
of  Vanity  Fair.  Nor  is  the  succour  far  away.  Yet  to 
persuade  men  of  their  need  and  then  to  bring  them  to 
the  feet  of  God  are  the  most  difficult  of  tasks  in  an  age 
of  self-sufficiency  and  spiritual  unreason.  Harder  than 
ever  is  the  struggle  to  rescue  the  victims  of  worldly 
fashion,  enticement  and  folly  :  for  the  false  vi^ord  has 
gone  forth  that  here  and  here  only  is  the  life  of  man 
and  that  renouncing  the  temporal  is  renouncing  all. 


XXIII. 

THE    VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND   OF  DEATH. 
Judges  xvi.  4-31. 

THE  Strong  bold  man  who  has  blindly  fought  his 
battles  and  sold  himself  to  the  traitress  and  to 
the  enemy, 

"  Eyeless  in  Gaza  at  the  mill  with  slaves," 

the  sport  and  scorn  of  those  who  once  feared  him,  is 
a  mournful  object.  As  we  look  upon  him  there  in  his 
humiliation,  his  temper  and  power  wasted,  his  life 
withered  in  its  prime,  we  almost  forget  the  folly  and 
the  sin,  so  much  are  we  moved  to  pity  and  regret.  For 
Samson  is  a  picture,  vigorous  in  outline  and  colour,  of 
what  in  a  less  striking  way  many  are  and  many  more 
would  be  if  it  were  not  for  restraints  of  divine  grace. 
A  fallen  hero  is  this.  But  the  career  of  multitudes 
without  the  dash  and  energy  ends  in  the  Hke  misery 
of  defeat ;  nothing  done,  not  much  attempted,  their 
existence  fades  into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.  There 
has  been  no  ardour  to  make  death  glorious. 

Every  man  has  his  defects,  his  besetting  sins,  his 
dangers.  It  is  in  the  consciousness  of  our  own  that 
we  approach  with  sorrow  the  last  scenes  of  the  eventful 
history  of  Samson.     Who  dares  cast  a  stone  at  him  ? 


320  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Who  can  fling  a  taunt  as  he  is  seen  groping  about  in 
his  blindness  ? 

"A  little  onward  lend  thy  guiding  hand 
To  these  dark  steps,  a  little  further  on. 
For  yonder  bank  hath  choice  of  sun  or  shade; 
There  I  am  wont  to  sit  when  any  chance 
Relieves  me  from  my  task  of  servile  toil. 
O  dark,  dark,  dark  amid  the  blaze  of  noon, 
Irrecoverably  dark,  total  eclipse 
Without  all  hope  of  day :  " 

SO  we  hear  him  bewail  his  lot.  And  we,  perchance, 
feeling  weakness  creep  over  us  while  bonds  of  circum- 
stance still  hold  us  from  what  we  see  to  be  our  divine 
calling, — we  compassionate  ourselves  in  pitying  him  ; 
or,  if  we  are  as  yet  strong  and  buoyant,  our  history 
before  us,  plans  for  useful  service  of  our  time  clearly 
in  view,  have  we  not  already  felt  the  symptoms  of 
moral  infirmity  which  make  it  doubtful  whether  we 
shall  reach  our  goal  ?  There  are  many  hindrances, 
and  even  the  brave  unselfish  man  who  never  loiters 
in  Gaza  or  in  the  treacherous  valley  may  find  his  way 
barred  by  obstacles  he  cannot  remove.  But  in  the  case 
of  most  the  hindrances  within  are  the  most  numerous 
and  powerful.  This  man  who  should  effect  much  for 
his  age  is  held  by  love  which  blinds  him,  that  other 
by  hatred  which  masters  him.  Now  covetousness, 
now  pride  is  the  deterrent.  Many  begin  to  know  them- 
selves and  the  difficulty  of  doing  great  tasks  for  God 
and  man  when  noontide  is  past  and  the  day  has  begun 
to  decline.  Great  numbers  have  only  dreamed  of 
attempting  something  and  have  never  bestirred  them- 
selves to  act.  So  it  is  that  Samson's  defeat  appears 
a  symbol  of  the  pathetic  human  failure.  To  many  his 
character  is  full  of  sad  interest,  for  in  it  they  see  what 


xvi.4-3i-]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DE  A  TIL  321 


they  have  fears  of  becoming  or  what  they  have  already 
become. 

What  has  Samson  lost  when  he   has  revealed  his 
secret  to  Delilah  ?     Observe  him  when  he  goes  forth 
from   the  woman's  house  and  stands  in   the  sunlight. 
Apart  from  the  want  of  his  waving  locks  he  seems  the 
same  and  is  physically  the  same  ;  muscle  and  sinew, 
bone  and  nerve,  stout-beating  heart  and   strong  arm, 
Samson   is  there.     And  his    human  will    is  as    eager 
as  ever ;  he  is  a  bold  daring  man  this  morning  as  he 
was  last  evening,  with  the  same  dream  of  "breaking 
through  all"  and  bearing  himself  as  king.     But  he  is 
more  lonely    than    ever    before ;  something  has   gone 
from  his  soul.     A  heavy  sense  of  faithlessness  to  one 
prized    distinction    and    known    duty   oppresses    him. 
Chake  thyself  as  at  other  times,   poor  rash    Samson, 
but  know  in  thy  heart  that  at  last  thou  art  powerless  : 
the  audacity  of  faith  is  no  longer  thine.     Thou  art  the 
natural  man  still,  but  that  is  not  enough,  the  spiritual 
sanction    gone.     The    Philistines,    half  afraid,    gather 
about  thee  ten  to  one ;  they  can  bind  now  and  lead 
captive  for  thou   hast  lost   the  girdle  which  knit   thy 
powers  together  and  made  thee  invincible.     The  con- 
sciousness of  being  God's  man  is  gone — the  conscious- 
ness  of  being  true  to    that   which  united  thee    in   a 
rude  but  very  real  bond  to  the  Almighty.     Thou  hast 
scorned    the    vow  which    kept    thee   from    the    abyss, 
and  with  the  knowledge  of  utter  moral  baseness  comes 
physical  prostration,  despair,  feebleness,  ruin.     Samson 
at  last  knows  himself  to  be  no  king  at  all,  no  hero  nor 
judge. 

It  is  common  to  think  the  spiritual  of  little  account, 
faith  in  God  of  little  account.  Suppose  men  give  that 
up ;  suppose  they  no  longer  hold  themselves  bound  by 

21 


322  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

duty  to  the  Almighty ;  they  expect  nevertheless  to  con- 
tinue the  same.  They  will  still  have  their  reason, 
their  strength  of  body  and  of  mind ;  they  believe  that 
all  they  once  did  they  shall  still  be  able  to  do  and  now 
more  freely  in  their  own  way,  therefore  even  more 
successfully.  Is  that  so  ?  Hope  is  a  spiritual  thing. 
It  is  apart  from  bodily  strength,  distinct  from  energy 
and  manual  skill.  Take  hope  away  from  a  man,  the 
strongest,  the  bravest,  the  most  intelligent,  and  will 
he  be  the  same  ?  Nay.  His  eye  loses  its  lustre ;  the 
vigour  of  his  will  decays;  he  lies  powerless  and  defeated. 
Or  take  love  away — love  which  is  again  a  spiritual 
thing.  Let  the  ardour,  the  reason  for  exertion  which 
love  inspired  pass  away.  Let  the  man  who  loved  and 
would  have  dared  all  for  love  be  deprived  of  that 
source  of  vital  power,  and  he  will  dare  no  longer.  Sad 
and  weary  and  dispirited  he  will  cast  himself  down 
careless  of  life. 

But  hope  and  love  are  not  so  necessary  to  the  full 
tide  of  human  vigour,  are  not  so  potent  in  stirring  the 
powers  of  manhood  as  the  friendship  of  God,  the  con- 
sciousness that  made  by  God  for  ends  of  His  we  have 
Him  as  our  stay.  Indeed  without  this  consciousness 
manhood  never  finds  its  strength.  This  gives  a  hope 
far  higher  and  more  sustaining  than  any  of  a  personal 
or  temporal  kind.  It  makes  us  strong  by  virtue  of  the 
finest  and  deepest  affection  which  can  possibly  move 
us;  and  more  than  that  it  gives  to  life  full  meaning, 
proper  aim  and  justification.  A  man  without  the  sense 
of  a  divine  origin  and  election  has  no  standing-ground ; 
he  is  so  to  speak  without  the  right  of  existence,  he  has 
no  claim  to  be  heard  in  speaking  and  to  have  a  place 
among  those  who  act.  But  he  who  feels  himself  to  be 
in  the  world  on  God's  business,  to  be  God's  servant, 


xvi.4-3i-]  THE    VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.  323 

has  his  assured  place  and  claim  as  a  man,  and  can  see 
reason  and  purpose  for  every  sharp  trial  to  which  he 
is  put.  (Here  then  is  the  secret  of  strength,  the  only 
source  of  power  and  steadfastness  for  any  man  or 
woman.  And  he  who  has  had  it  and  lost  it,  breaking 
with  God  for  the  sake  of  gain  or  pleasure  or  some 
earthly  affection,  must  like  Samson  feel  his  vigour 
sapped,  his  confidence  forfeited.  Now  his  power  to 
command,  to  advise,  to  contend  for  any  worthy  result 
has  passed  away.  He  is  a  tree  whose  root  ceases  to 
feed  in  the  soil  though  still  the  leaves  are  green. 

The  spiritual  loss,  the  loss  of  living  faith,  is  the  great 
one :  but  is  it  for  that  we  generally  pity  ourselves  or 
any  person  known  to  us  ?     Life  and  freedom  are  dear, 
the  ability  to  put  forth  energy  at  our  will,  the  sense 
of  capacity ;  and  it  is  the  loss  of  these  in  outward  and 
visible  ranges  that  most  moves  us  to  grief.     We  com- 
miserate the  strong  man  whose  exploits  in  the  world 
seem  to  be  over,  as  we  pity  the  orator  whose  power  of 
speech  is  gone,  the  artist  who  can  no  more  handle  the 
brush,  the  eager  merchant  whose  bargaining  is  done. 
We   give    our   sympathy  to    Samson,  because   in    the 
midst  of  his  days  he  has  fallen  overcome  by  treachery, 
because  the  cruelty  of  enemies  has  afflicted  him.     Yet, 
looking  at  the  truth  of  things,  the  real  cause  of  pity  is 
deeper  than  any  of  these  and  different.     A  man  who 
is  still  in  living  touch  with  God  can  suffer  the  saddest 
deprivations    and    retain    a   cheerful    heart,    unbroken 
courage  and  hope.     Suppose  that  Samson,   surprised 
by  his  enemies  while  he  was  about  some  worthy  task, 
had  been    seized,   deprived   of  his  sight,   bound    with 
fetters  of  iron   and  consigned  to   prison.     Should  we 
then  have  had  to  pity  him  as  we  must  when  he  is 
taken,  a  traitor  to  himself,  the  dupe  of  a  deceiver,  with 


324  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

the  badge  of  his  vow  and  the  sense  of  his  fidelit}^ 
gone  ?  We  feel  with  Jeremiah  in  his  affliction  ;  we  feel 
with  John  the  Baptist  confined  in  the  prison  into  which 
Herod  has  cast  him,  with  St.  Paul  in  the  Philippian 
dungeon  and  with  St.  Peter  lying  bound  with  chains  in 
the  castle  of  Jerusalem.  But  we  do  not  commiserate, 
we  admire  and  exult.  Here  are  men  who  endure  for 
the  right.  They  are  martyrs,  fellow-sufferers  with 
Christ;  they  are  marching  with  the  cohorts  of  God 
to  the  deliverances  of  eternity.  Ah  !  It  is  the  men 
who  are  "  martyrs  by  the  pang  without  the  palm,"  the 
men  who  have  lost  not  only  liberty  but  nobleness,  who 
dragged  after  false  lures  have  sold  their  prudence  and 
their  strength — these  it  is  for  whom  we  need  to  weep. 
He  who  doing  his  duty  has  been  mastered  by  enemies, 
he  who  fighting  a  brave  battle  has  been  overcome — 
let  us  not  dare  to  pity  him.  But  the  man  who  has 
given  up  the  battle  of  faith,  who  has  lost  his  glory, 
him  the  heavens  look  upon  with  the  profound  sorrow 
that  is  called  for  by  a  wasted  life. 

And  how  pathetic  the  touch  :  \"  He  wist  not  that  the 
Lord  had  departed  from  him."  For  a  little  time  he 
failed  to  realize  the  spiritual  disaster  he  had  brought 
on  himself.  For  a  Httle  time  only ;  soon  the  dark 
conviction  seized  him.  But  worse  still  would  have 
been  his  case  if  he  had  remained  unconscious  of  loss. 
This  sense  of  weakness  is  the  last  boon  to  the  sinner. 
God  still  does  this  for  him,  poor  headstrong  child  of 
nature  as  he  would  fain  be,  living  by  and  for  himself: 
he  is  not  permitted.  Whether  he  will  own  it  or  not 
he  shall  be  weak  and  useless  until  he  returns  to  God 
and  to  himself.  Often  indeed  we  find  the  enslaved 
Samson  refusing  to  allow  that  anything  is  wrong  with 
him.     Out  of  sight  of  the  world,  in  some  very  secret 


xvi.4-3i-]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.  325 


place  he  has  broken  the  obligations  of  faith,  temperance, 
chastity,  and  yet  thinks  no  special  result  has  followed. 
He  can  meet  the  demands  of  society  and  that  is  enough, 
supposing  the  matter  should  come  to  light.  Of  the 
subtle  poisoning  of  his  own  soul  he  has  no  thought. 
Is  the  thing  hidden  then  ?  The  law  which  determines 
that  as  a  man  is  so  his  strength  shall  be  follows  every 
one  into  the  most  secret  place.  It  keeps  watch  over 
our  veracity,  our  sobriety,  our  purity,  our  faithfulness. 
Whenever  in  one  point  our  covenant  with  God  is 
broken  a  part  of  strength  is  taken  away.  Do  we  not 
perceive  the  loss  ?  Do  we  flatter  ourselves  that  all  is 
as  before  ?  That  is  only  our  spiritual  blindness ;  the 
fact  remains. 

What  a  pitiful  thing  it  is  to  see  men  in  this  plight 
trying  in  vain  to  go  about  as  if  nothing  had  happened 
and  they  were  as  fit  as  ever  for  their  places  in  society 
and  in  the  church  !  We  do  not  speak  solely  of  sins  like 
those  into  which  Samson  and  David  fell.  There  are 
others,  scarcely  reckoned  sins,  which  as  surely  result 
in  moral  weakness  perceived  or  unperceived,  in  the 
loss  of  God's  countenance  and  support.  Our  covenant 
is  to  be  pure  and  also  merciful  ;  let  one  fail  in  merci- 
fulness, let  there  be  a  harsh  pitiless  temper  cherished 
in  secret,  and  this  as  well  as  impurity  will  make  him 
morally  weak.  Our  covenant  is  to  be  generous  as 
well  as  honest ;  let  a  man  keep  from  the  poor  and 
from  the  church  what  he  ought  to  give,  and  he  will 
lose  his  strength  of  soul  as  surely  as  if  he  cheated  an- 
other in  trade,  or  took  what  was  not  his  own.  But 
we  distinguish  between  sin  and  default  and  think  of 
the  latter  as  a  mere  infirmity  which  has  no  ill  effect. 
There  is  no  acknowledgment  of  loss  even  when  it  has 
become  almost  complete.    The  man  who  is  not  generous 


326  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

nor  merciful,  nor  a  defender  of  faith  goes  on  thinking 
all  is  well  with  him,  imagining  that  his  futile  religious 
exercises  or  gifts  to  this  and  that  keep  him  on  good 
terms  with  God  and  that  he  is  helping  the  world,  while 
in  truth  he  has  not  the  moral  strength  of  a  child.  He 
acts  the  part  of  a  Christian  teacher  or  servant  of  the 
church,  he  leads  in  prayer,-  he  joins  in  deliberations 
that  have  to  do  with  the  success  of  Christian  work. 
To  himself  all  seems  satisfactory  and  he  expects  that 
good  shall  result  from  his  efforts.  But  it  cannot  be. 
There  is  the  strain  of  exertion  but  no  power. 

Do  we  wonder  that  more  is  not  effected  by  our 
organizations,  religious  and  other,  which  seem  so 
powerful,  quite  capable  of  Christianising  and  reforming 
the  world  ?  The  reason  is  that  many  of  the  professed 
religious  and  benevolent,  who  appear  zealous  and 
strenuous,  are  dying  at  heart.  The  Lord  may  not 
have  departed  from  them  utterly ;  they  are  not  dead  ; 
there  is  still  a  rootlet  of  spiritual  being.  But  they 
cannot  fight ;  they  cannot  help  others ;  they  cannot 
run  in  the  way  of  God's  commandments.  Are  we  not 
bound  to  ask  ourselves  how  we  stand,  whether  any 
failure  in  our  covenant-keeping  has  made  us  spiritually 
weak.  If  we  are  paltering  with  eternal  facts,  if  between 
us  and  the  one  Source  of  Life  there  is  a  widening 
distance  surely  the  need  is  urgent  for  a  return  to 
Christian  honour  and  fidelity  which  will  make  us 
strong  and  useful. 

And  there  is  something  here  in  the  story  of  Samson 
that  bids  us  think  hopefully  of  a  new  way  and  a  new 
life.  In  the  misery  to  which  he  was  reduced  there 
came  to  him  with  renewed  acceptance  of  his  vow  a 
fresh  endowment  of  vigour.  It  is  the  divine  healing, 
the  grace  of  the  long-suffering  Father  which  are  thus 


XV.  4-3 1 •]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.    327 

/  represented.  No  human  soul  needs  to  be  utterly 
disconsolate,  for  grace  waits  ever  on  discomfiture. 
/  Return  to  me,  says  the  Lord,  and  I  will  return  to  you  ; 
/  I  will  heal  your  backslidings  and  love  you  freely.  Out 
of  the  deepest  depths  there  is  a  way  to  the  heights 
of  spiritual  privilege  and  power.  To  confess  our  faults 
and   sins,   to  resume  the  fidelity,  the  uprightness,  the 

^  generosity  and  mercifulness  we  renounced,  to  take 
again  the  straight  upward  path  of  self-denial  and  duty 
— this  is  always  reserved  for  the  soul  that  has  not 
utterly  perished.  The  man,  young  or  old,  who  has 
become  weaker  than  a  child  for  any  good  work  may  hear 
the  call  that  speaks  of  hope.  He  who  in  self-indulgence 
or  hard  worldliness  has  abandoned  God  may  turn 
again  to  the  Father's  entreaty,  ^'  Remember  from  what 
thou  hast  fallen  and  repent." 

We  pass  now  to  consider  a  point  suggested  by  the 
terms  in  which  the  Philistines  triumphed  over  their 
captured  foe.  When  the  people  saw  him  they  praised 
their  God  :  for  they  said,  Our  god  hath  delivered  into 
our  hand  our  enemy,  and  the  destroyer  of  our  country 
which  hath  slain  many  of  us.  Here  the  ignorant  religi- 
ousness and  gratitude  of  Philistines  to  a  god  which 
was  no  God  might  provoke  a  smile  were  it  not  for  the 
consideration  that  under  the  clear  light  of  Christianity 
equal  ignorance  is  often  shown  by  those  who  profess 
to  be  piously  grateful.  You  say  it  was  the  bribe  which 
the  Philistine  lords  offered  to  Delilah  and  her  treachery 
and  Samson's  sin  that  put  him  in  the  enemy's  hand. 
You  say,  Surely  the  most  ignorant  man  in  Gaza  must 
have  seen  that  Dagon  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  result.  And  yet  it  is  very  common  to  ascribe  to 
God  what  is  nowise  His  doing.  There  are  indeed 
times  when  we  almost  shudder  to  hear  God  thanked 


328  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

for  that  which  could  only  be  attributed  to  a    Dagon 
or  a  Moloch. 

We  are  told  of  the  tribal  gods  of  those  old  Syrians 
— Baal,  Melcarth,  Sutekh,  Milcom  and  the  rest — each 
adored  as  master  and  protector  by  some  people  or  race. 
Piously  the  devotees  of  each  god  acknowledged  his 
hand  in  every  victory  and  every  fortunate  circumstance, 
at  the  same  time  tracing  to  his  anger  and  their  own 
neglect  of  duty  to  him  all  calamities  and  defeats. 
May  it  not  be  said  that  the  belief  of  many  still  is  in 
a  tribal  god,  falsely  called  by  the  name  of  Jehovah,  a 
god  whose  chief  function  is  to  look  after  their  interests 
whoever  may  suffer,  and  take  their  side  in  all  quarrels 
whoever  may  be  in  the  right  ?  Men  make  for  them- 
selves the  rude  outline  of  a  divinity  who  is  supposed  to 
be  indifferent  or  hostile  to  every  circle  but  their  own, 
suspicious  of  every  church  but  their  own,  careless  of 
the  sufferings  of  all  but  themselves.  In  two  countries 
that  are  at  war  prayers  for  success  will  ascend  in 
almost  the  same  terms  to  one  who  is  thought  of  as  a 
national  protector,  not  to  the  Father  of  all ;  each  side 
is  utterly  regardless  of  the  other,  makes  no  allowance 
in  prayer  for  the  possibility  that  the  other  may  be  in 
the  right.  The  thanksgivings  of  the  victors  too  will  be 
mixed  with  glorying  almost  fiendish  over  the  defeated, 
whose  blood,  it  may  be,  dyed  in  pathetic  martyrdom 
their  own  hill-sides  and  valleys.  In  less  flagrant  cases, 
where  it  is  only  a  question  of  gain  or  loss  in  trade,  of 
getting  some  object  of  desire,  the  same  spirit  is  shown. 
God  is  thanked  for  bestowing  that  of  which  another, 
perhaps  more  worthy,  is  deprived.  It  is  not  to  the 
kindness  of  Heaven,  but  rather  to  the  proving  severity 
of  God,  we  may  say,  that  the  result  is  due.  Looking 
on   with  clear  eyes  we    see    something   very  different 


xvi.4-3i-]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.   329 

from  divine  approval  in  the  prosperous  efforts  of  un- 
scrupulous push  and  wire-pulling.  Those  who  have 
much  success  in  the  world  have  need  to  justify  their 
comforts  and  the  praise  they  enjoy.  They  need  to 
show  cause  to  the  ranks  of  the  obscure  and  ill-paid  for 
their  superior  fortune.  Success  like  theirs  cannot  be 
admitted  as  a  special  mark  of  the  favour  of  that  God 
Whose  ways  are  equal,  Whose  name  is  the  Holy  and 
Just. 

Next  look  at  the  ignoble  task  to  which  Samson  is  put 
by  the  Philistines,  a  type  of  the  ignominious  uses  to 
which  the  hero  may  be  doomed  by  the  crowd.  The 
multitude  cannot  be  trusted  with  a  great  man. 

In  the  prison  at  Gaza  the  fallen  chief  was  set  to  grind 
corn,  to  do  the  work  of  slaves.  To  him,  indeed,  work 
was  a  blessing.  From  the  bitter  thoughts  that  would 
have  eaten  out  his  heart  he  was  somewhat  delivered  by 
the  irksome  labour.  In  reality,  as  we  now  perceive, 
no  work  degrades ;  but  a  man  of  Samson's  type  and 
period  thought  differently.  The  Philistine  purpose  was 
to  degrade  him ;  and  the  Hebrew  captive  would  feel  in 
the  depths  of  his  hot  brooding  nature  the  humiliating 
doom.  Look  then  at  the  parallels.  Think  of  a  great 
statesman  placed  at  the  head  of  a  nation  to  guide  its 
policy  in  the  line  of  righteousness,  to  bring  its  laws 
into  harmony  with  the  principles  of  human  freedom 
and  divine  justice — think  of  such  a  one,  while  labouring 
at  his  sacred  task  with  all  the  ardour  of  a  noble  heart, 
called  to  account  by  those  whose  only  desire  is  for 
better  trade,  the  means  of  beating  their  rivals  in  some 
market  or  bolstering  up  their  failing  speculations.  Or 
see  him  at  another  time  pursued  by  the  cry  of  a  class 
that  feels  its  prescriptive  rights  invaded  or  its  position 
threatened.     Take  again  a  poet,  an  artist,  a  writer,  a 


330  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

preacher  intent  on  great  themes,  eagerly  following 
after  the  ideal  to  which  he  has  devoted  himself,  but 
exposed  every  moment  to  the  criticism  of  men  who 
have  no  soul — held  up  to  ridicule  and  reprobation 
because  he  does  not  accept  vulgar  models  and  repeat 
the  catchwords  of  this  or  that  party.  Philistinism  is 
always  in  this  way  asserting  its  claim,  and  ever  and 
anon  it  succeeds  in  dragging  some  ardent  soul  into  the 
dungeon  to  grind  thenceforth  at  the  mill. 

With  the  very  highest  too  it  is  not  afraid  to  inter- 
meddle. Christ  Himself  is  not  safe.  The  Philistines 
of  to-day  are  doing  their  utmost  to  make  His  name 
inglorious.  For  what  else  is  the  modern  cry  that 
Christianity  should  be  chiefly  about  the  business  of 
making  life  comfortable  in  this  world  and  providing 
not  only  bread  but  amusement  for  the  crowd  ?  The 
ideas  of  the  church  are  not  practical  enough  for  this 
generation.  To  get  rid  of  sin — that  is  a  dream ;  to 
make  men  fearers  of  God,  soldiers  of  truth,  doers  of 
righteousness  at  all  hazards — that  is  in  the  air.  Let 
it  be  given  up ;  let  us  seek  what  we  can  reach ;  bind 
the  name  of  Christ  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  chains 
to  the  work  of  a  practical  secularism,  and  let  us  turn 
churches  into  pleasant  lounging  places  and  picture 
galleries.  Why  should  the  soul  have  the  benefit  of  so 
great  a  name  as  that  of  the  Son  of  God  ?  Is  not  the 
body  more  ?  Is  not  the  main  business  to  have  houses 
and  railways,  news  and  enjoyment  ?  The  poHcy  of 
undeifying  Christ  is  having  too  much  success.  If  it 
make  way  there  will  soon  be  need  for  a  fresh  departure 
into  the  wilderness. 

The  last  scene  of  Samson's  history  awaits  us — the 
gigantic  effort,  the  awful  revenge  in  which  the  Hebrew 
champion    ended   his    days.     In    one    sense    it   aptly 


xvi.4-3i-]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.    331 

crowns  the  man's  career.  The  sacred  historian  is 
not  composing  a  romance,  yet  the  end  could  not  have 
been  more  fit.  Strangely  enough  it  has  given  occasion 
for  preaching  the  doctrine  of  self-sacrifice  as  the  only 
means  of  highest  achievement,  and  we  are  asked  to 
see  here  an  example  of  the  finest  heroism,  the  most 
sublime  devotion.  Samson  dying  for  his  country  is 
likened  to  Christ  dying  for  His  people. 

It   is  impossible  to  allow  this  for  a  moment.     Not 
Milton's    apology    for  Samson,    not    the   authority   of 
all  the  illustrious  men  who    have   drawn  the  parallel 
can  keep  us    from    deciding  that    this   was  a   case  of 
vengeance  and  self-murder  not  of  noble  devotion.     We 
have  no    sense  of  vindicated    principle  when  we   see 
that  temple  fall  in  terrible    ruin,  but   a  thrill  of  dis- 
appointment and  keen  sorrow  that  a  servant  of  Jehovah 
should    have    done  this   in    His  name.     The   lords  of 
the  Philistines,  all  the  sevens  or  chiefs  of  the  hundred 
cities  are  gathered  in  the  ample  porch  of  the  building. 
True,  they  are  assembled  at  an  idolatrous  feast ;  but 
this  idolatry  is  their  religion  which  they  cannot  choose 
but  exercise  for  they  know  of  no  better,  nor  has  Samson 
ever  done  one  deed  or  spoken  one  word  that  could  con- 
vince them  of  error.     True,  they  are  met  to  rejoice  over 
their  enemy  and  they  call  for  him  in  cruel  vainglory 
to  make  them  sport.     Yet  this  is  the  man  who  for  his 
sport  and  in  his  revenge  once  burned  the  standing  corn 
of  a  whole  valley  and  more  than  once  v/ent  on  slaying 
Philistines   till   he    was   weary.     True,    Samson    as  a 
patriotic  Israelite  views  these  people  as  enemies.     Yet 
it  was  among  them  he  first  sought  a  wife  and  after- 
wards pleasure.     And  now,  if  he  decides  to  die  that 
he  may  kill  a  thousand  enemies  at  once,  is  the  self- 
chosen  death  less  an  act  of  suicide  ? 


332  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

If  this  was  truly  a  fine  act  of  self-sacrifice  what  good 
came  of  it?  The  sacrifice  that  is  to  be  praised  does 
distinct  and  clearly  purposed  service  to  some  worthy 
cause  or  high  moral  end.  We  do  not  find  that  this 
dreadful  deed  reconciled  the  Philistines  to  Israel  or 
moved  them  to  belief  in  Jehovah.  We  observe,  on  the 
contrary,  that  it  went  to  increase  the  hatred  between 
race  and  race,  so  that  when  Canaanites,  Moabites, 
Ammonites,  Midianites  no  longer  vex  Israel  these 
Philistines  show  more  deadly  antagonism — antagonism 
of  which  Israel  knew  the  heat  when  on  the  red  field  of 
Gilboa  the  kingly  Saul  and  the  well-beloved  Jonathan 
were  together  stricken  down  in  death.  If  there  was  in 
Samson's  mind  any  thought  of  vindicating  a  principle 
it  was  that  of  Israel's  dignity  as  the  people  of  Jehovah. 
But  here  his  testimony  was  worthless. 

As  we  have  already  said,  much  is  written  about  self- 
sacrifice  which  is  sheer  mockery  of  truth,  most  falsely 
sentimental.  Men  and  women  are  urged  to  the  notion 
that  if  they  can  only  find  some  pretext  for  renouncing 
freedom,  for  curbing  and  endangering  life,  for  stepping 
aside  from  the  way  of  common  service  that  they  may 
give  up  something  in  an  uncommon  way  for  the  sake 
of  any  person  or  cause,  good  will  come  of  it.  The 
doctrine  is  a  he.  The  sacrifice  of  Christ  was  not  of 
that  kind.  It  was  under  the  influence  of  no  blind 
desire  to  give  up  His  life,  but  first  under  the  pressure 
of  a  supreme  providential  necessity,  then  in  renunciation 
of  the  earthly  life  for  a  clearly  seen  and  personally 
embraced  divine  end,  the  reconciliation  of  man  to  God, 
the  setting  forth  of  a  propitiation  for  the  sin  of  the 
world — for  this  it  was  He  died.  He  willed  to  be  our 
Saviour ;  having  so  chosen  He  bowed  to  the  burden 
that   was  laid  upon   Him.     "  It  pleased  the  Lord  to 


xvi.4-3i.]  THE  VALLEY  OF  SOREK  AND  OF  DEATH.  333 


bruise  Him ;  He  hath  put  Him  to  grief."  To  the  end 
He  foresaw  and  desired  there  was  but  one  way — and 
the  way  was  that  of  death  because  of  man's  wicked- 
ness and  ruin. 

Suffering  for  itself  is  no  end  and  never  can  be  to 
God  or  to  Christ  or  to  a  good  man.  It  is  a  necessity 
on  the  way  to  the  ends  of  righteousness  and  love.  If 
personality  is  not  a  delusion  and  salvation  a  dream 
there  must  be  in  every  case  of  Christian  renunciation 
some  distinct  moral  aim  in  view  for  every  one  concerned, 
and  there  must  be  at  each  step,  as  in  the  action  of  our 
Lord,  the  most  distinct  and  unwavering  sincerity,  the 
most  direct  truthfulness.  Anything  else  is  a  sin 
against  God  and  humanity.  We  entreat  would-be 
moralists  of  the  day  to  comprehend  before  they  write 
of  ''  self-sacrifice."  The  sacrifice  of  the  moral  judgment 
is  always  a  crime,  and  to  preach  needless  suffering  for 
the  sake  of  covering  up  sin  or  as  a  means  of  atoning 
for  past  defects  is  to  utter  most  unchristian  falsehood. 

Samson  threw  away  a  life  of  which  he  was  weary 
and  ashamed.  He  threw  it  away  in  avenging  a  cruelty ; 
but  it  was  a  cruelty  he  had  no  reason  to  call  a  wrong. 
"  O  God,  that  I  might  be  avenged ! " — that  was  no 
prayer  of  a  faithful  heart.  It  was  the  prayer  ot 
envenomed  hatred,  of  a  soul  still  unregenerate  after 
trial.  His  death  was  indeed  5^^-sacrifice — the  sacrifice 
of  the  higher  self,  the  true  self,  to  the  lower.  Samson 
should  have  endured  patiently,  magnifying  God.  Or  we 
can  imagine  something  not  perfect  yet  heroic.  Had 
he  said  to  those  Philistines,  My  people  and  you  have 
been  too  long  at  enmity.  Let  there  be  an  end  of  it. 
Avenge  yourselves  on  me,  then  cease  from  harassing 
Israel, — that  would  have  been  like  a  brave  man.  But  it 
is  not  this  we  find.     And  we  close  the  story  of  Samson 


334  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

more  sad  than  ever  that  Israel's  history  has  not 
taught  a  great  man  to  be  a  good  man,  that  the  hero 
has  not  achieved  the  morally  heroic,  that  adversity  has 
not  begotten  in  him  a  wise  patience  and  magnan- 
imity. Yet  he  had  a  place  under  Divine  Providence. 
The  dim  troubled  faith  that  was  in  his  soul  was  not 
altogether  fruitless.  No  Jehovah- worshipper  would 
ever  think  of  bowing  before  that  god  whose  temple 
fell  in  ruins  on  the  captive  Israelite  and  his  thousand 
victims. 


XXIV. 

THE  STOLEN  GODS 
Judges  xvii.,  xviii, 

THE  portion  of  the  Book  of  Judges  which  begins 
with  the  seventeenth  chapter  and  extends  to 
the  close  is  not  in  immediate  connection  with  that 
which  has  gone  before.  We  read  (ch.  xviii.  30)  that 
'*  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Gershom,  the  son  of  Manasseh, 
he  and  his  sons  were  priests  to  the  tribe  of  Dan  until 
the  day  of  the  captivity  of  the  land."  But  the  proper 
reading  is,  "  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Gershom,  the  son  of 
Moses."  It  would  seem  that  the  renegade  Levite  of 
the  narrative  was  a  near  descendant  of  the  great  law- 
giver. So  rapidly  did  the  zeal  of  the  priestly  house 
decline  that  in  the  third  or  fourth  generation  after 
Moses  one  of  his  own  hne  became  minister  of  an  idol 
temple  for  the  sake  of  a  living.  It  is  evident,  then, 
that  in  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  chapter  we  are 
carried  back  to  the  time  immediately  following  the 
conquest  of  Canaan  by  Joshua,  when  Othniel  was 
settling  in  the  south  and  the  tribes  were  endeavouring 
to  estabHsh  themselves  in  the  districts  allotted  to  them. 
The  note  of  time  is  of  course  far  from  precise,  but  the 
incidents  are  certainly  to  be  placed  early  in  the  period. 
We  are  introduced  first  to  a  family  living  in  Mount 
Ephraim   consisting  of  a  widow  and  her  son  Micah 


336  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

who  is  married  and  has  sons  of  his  own.  It  appears 
that  on  the  death  of  the  father  of  Micah  a  sum  of 
eleven  hunded  shekels  of  silver,  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  of  our  money — a  large  amount  for  the 
time — was  missed  by  the  widow,  who  after  vain  search 
for  it  spoke  in  strong  terms  about  the  matter  to  her 
son.  He  had  taken  the  money  to  use  in  stocking  his 
farm  or  in  trade  and  at  once  acknowledged  that  he  had 
done  so  and  restored  it  to  his  mother,  who  hastened  to 
undo  any  evil  her  words  had  caused  by  invoking  upon 
him  the  blessing  of  God.  Further  she  dedicated  two 
hundred  of  her  shekels  to  make  graven  and  molten 
images  in  token  of  piety  and  gratitude. 

We  have  here  a  very  significant  revelation  of  the 
state  of  rehgion.  The  indignation  of  Moses  had  burned 
against  the  people  when  at  Sinai  they  made  a  rude 
image  of  gold,  sacrificed  to  it  and  danced  about  it  in 
heathen  revel.  We  are  reading  of  what  took  place  say  a 
century  after  that  scene  at  the  foot  of  Sinai,  and  already 
those  who  desire  to  show  their  devotion  to  the  Eternal, 
very  imperfectly  known  as  Jehovah,  make  teraphim 
and  molten  images  to  represent  Him.  Micah  has  a 
sort  of  private  chapel  or  temple  among  the  buildings 
in  his  courtyard.  He  consecrates  one  of  his  sons  to 
be  priest  of  this  little  sanctuary.  And  the  historian 
adds  in  explanation  of  this,  as  one  keenly  aware  of  the 
benefits  of  good  government  under  a  God-fearing  mon- 
arch— "  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel. 
Every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes." 

We  need  not  take  for  granted  that  the  worship  in 
this  hill-chapel  was  of  the  heathen  sort.  There  was 
probably  no  Baal,  no  Astarte  among  the  images;  or, 
if  there  was,  it  may  have  been  merely  as  representing 
a  Syrian  power  prudently  recognised  but  not  adored. 


xvii.,  xviii.]  THE  STOLEN  GODS.  337 


No  hint  occurs  in  the  whole  story  of  a  hcentious  or 
a  cruel  cult,  although  there  must  have  been  something 
dangerously  like  the  superstitious  practices  of  Canaan. 
Micah's  chapel,  whatever  the  observances  were,  gave 
direct  introduction  to  the  pagan  forms  and  notions 
which  prevailed  among  the  people  of  the  land.  There 
already  Jehovah  was  degraded  to  the  rank  of  a  nature- 
divinity,  and  represented  by  figures. 

In  one  of  the  highland  valleys  towards  the  north  of 
Ephraim's  territory  Micah  had  his  castle  and  his  ecclesi- 
astical estabhshment— state  and  church  in  germ.  The 
Israelites  of  the  neighbourhood,  who  looked  up  to  the 
well-to-do  farmer  for  protection,  regarded  him  all  the 
more  that  he  showed  respect  for  religion,  that  he 
had  this  house  of  gods  and  a  private  priest.  They 
came  to  worship  in  his  sanctuary  and  to  inquire  of  the 
ecclesiastic,  who  in  some  way  endeavoured  to  discover 
the  will  of  God  by  means  of  the  teraphim  and  ephod. 
The  ark  of  the  covenant  was  not  far  away  for  Bethel 
and  Gilgal  were  both  within  a  day's  journey.  But  the 
people  did  not  care  to  be  at  the  trouble  of  going  so  far. 
They  liked  better  their  own  local  shrine  and  its  home- 
Her  ways;  and  when  at  length  Micah  secured  the 
services  of  a  Levite  the  worship  seemed  to  have  all  the 
.  sanction  that  could  possibly  be  desired. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  God  is  not  confined  to 
a  locality,  that  in  those  days  as  in  our  own  the 
true  worshipper  could  find  the  Almighty  on  any  hill- 
top, in  any  dwelling  or  private  place,  as  well  as  at  the 
accredited  shrine.  It  is  quite  true,  also,  that  God 
makes  large  allowance  for  the  ignorance  of  men  and 
their  need  of  visible  signs  and  symbols  of  what  is 
unseen  and  eternal.  We  must  not  therefore  assume 
at  once   that  in    Micah's   house    of  idols,    before    the 

22 


338  THE   BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

widow's  graven  and  molten  figures  there  could  be  no 
acceptable  worship,  no  prayers  that  reached  the  ear 
of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  And  one  might  even  go  the 
length  of  saying  that,  perhaps,  in  this  schismatic 
sanctuary,  this  chapel  of  images,  devotion  could  be 
quite  as  sincere  as  before  the  ark  itself.  Little  good 
came  of  the  religious  ordinances  maintained  there 
during  the  whole  period  of  the  judges,  and  even  in 
Eli's  latter  days  the  vileness  and  covetousness  practised 
at  Shiloh  more  than  countervailed  any  pious  influence. 
Local  and  family  altars  therefore  must  have  been  of 
real  use.  But  this  was  the  danger,  that  leaving  the 
appointed  centre  of  Jehovah-worship,  where  symbolism 
was  confined  within  safe  limits,  the  people  should  in 
ignorant  piety  multiply  objects  of  adoration  and  run 
into  polytheism.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  decree, 
afterwards  recognised,  that  one  place  of  sacrifice  should 
gather  to  it  all  the  tribes  and  that  there  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  with  its  altar  should  alone  speak  of  the  will 
and  holiness  of  God.  And  the  story  of  the  Danite 
migration  connected  with  this  of  Micah  and  his  Levite 
well  illustrates  the  wisdom  of  such  a  law,  for  it  shows 
how,  in  the  far  north,  a  sanctuary  and  a  worship  were 
set  up  which,  existing  long  for  tribal  devotion,  became 
a  national  centre  of  impure  worship. 

The  wandering  Levite  from  Bethlehem-judah  is  one, 
we  must  believe,  of  many  Levites,  who  having  found 
no  inheritance  because  the  cities  allotted  to  them  were 
as  yet  unconquered  spread  themselves  over  the  land 
seeking  a  livelihood,  ready  to  fall  in  with  any  local 
customs  of  religion  that  offered  them  position  and 
employment.  The  Levites  were  esteemed  as  men 
acquainted  with  the  way  of  Jehovah,  able  to  maintain 
that  communication  with  Him  without  which  no  busi- 


XVll.,  X\  111 


]  THE  STOLEN  GODS.  339 


ness  could  be  hopefully  undertaken.  Something  of  the 
dignity  that  was  attached  to  the  names  of  Moses  and 
Aaron  ensured  them  honourable  treatment  everywhere 
unless  among  the  lowest  of  the  people  ;  and  when  this 
Levite  reached  the  dwelling  of  Micah,  beside  which 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  khan  or  lodging-place  for 
travellers,  the  chance  of  securing  him  was  at  once  seized. 
For  ten  pieces  of  silver,  say  twenty-five  shillings  a  year, 
with  a  suit  of  clothes  and  his  food,  he  agreed  to  become 
Micah's  private  chaplain.  At  this  very  cheap  rate  the 
whole  household  expected  a  time  of  prosperity  and 
divine  favour.  "  Now  know  I,"  said  the  head  of  the 
family,  ^'that  the  Lord  will  do  me  good  seeing  I  have 
a  Levite  to  my  priest."  We  must  fear  that  he  took 
some  advantage  of  the  man's  need,  that  he  did  not 
much  consider  the  honour  of  Jehovah  yet  reckoned  on 
getting  a  blessing  all  the  same.  It  was  a  case  of  seek- 
ing the  best  religious  privileges  as  cheaply  as  possible, 
a  very  common  thing  in  all  ages. 

But  the  coming  of  the  Levite  was  to  have  results 
Micah  did  not  foresee.  Jonathan  had  lived  in  Bethle- 
hem, and  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  westward  down  the 
valley  one  came  to  Zorah  and  Eshtaol,  two  little  towns 
of  the  tribe  of  Dan  of  which  we  have  heard.  The 
Levite  had  apparently  become  pretty  well  known  in 
the  district  and  especially  in  those  villages  to  which  he 
went  to  offer  sacrifice  or  perform  some  other  religious 
rite.  And  now  a  series  of  incidents  brought  certain 
old  acquaintances  to  his  new  place  of  abode. 

Even  in  Samson's  time  the  tribe  of  Dan,  whose 
territory  was  to  be  along  the  coast  west  from  Judah, 
was  still  obliged  to  content  itself  with  the  slopes  of  the 
hills,  not  having  got  possession  of  the  plain.  In  the 
earher  period  with  which  we  are  now  dealing  the  Danites 


340  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

were  in  yet  greater  difficulty,  for  not  only  had  they 
Philistines  on  the  one  side  but  Amorites  on  the  other. 
The  Amorites  "would  dwell/'  we  are  told,  ''in  Mount 
Heres,  in  Aijalon  and  in  Shaalbim."  It  was  this 
pressure  which  determined  the  people  about  Zorah  and 
Eshtaol  to  find  if  possible  another  place  of  settlement, 
and  five  men  were  sent  out  in  search.  Travelling  north 
they  took  the  same  way  as  the  Levite  had  taken,  heard 
of  the  same  khan  in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim  and 
made  it  their  resting-place  for  a  night.  The  discovery 
of  the  Levite  Jonathan  followed  and  of  the  chapel  in 
which  he  ministered  with  its  wonderful  array  of  images. 
We  can  suppose  the  deputation  had  thoughts  they  did 
not  express,  but  for  the  present  they  merely  sought 
the  help  of  the  priest,  begging  him  to  consult  the  oracle 
on  their  behalf  and  learn  whether  their  mission  would 
be  successful.  The  five  went  on  their  journey  with  the 
encouragement,  "  Go  in  peace ;  before  the  Lord  is  your 
way  wherein  ye  go." 

Months  pass  without  any  more  tidings  of  the  Danites 
until  one  a  day  a  great  company  is  seen  following  the 
hill-road  near  Micah's  farm.  There  are  six  hundred 
men  girt  with  weapons  of  war  with  their  wives  and 
children  and  cattle,  a  whole  clan  on  the  march,  filling 
the  road  for  miles  and  moving  slowly  northward.  The 
five  men  have  indeed  succeeded  after  a  fashion.  Away 
between  Lebanon  and  Hermon  in  the  region  of  the 
sources  of  Jordan  they  have  found  the  sort  of  district 
they  went  to  seek.  Its  chief  town  Laish  stood  in  the 
midst  of  fertile  fields  with  plenty  of  wood  and  water. 
It  was  a  place,  according  to  their  large  report,  where 
was  '*  no  want  of  anything  that  is  in  the  earth."  More- 
over the  inhabitants,  who  seem  to  have  been  a  Phoeni- 
cian   colony,    dwelt    by  themselves    quiet    and    secure 


341 


xvii.,  xviii.]  THE  STOLEN  GODS. 

having  no  dealings  or  treaty  with  the  powerful  Zido- 
nians.  They  were  the  very  kind  of  people  whom  a 
sudden  attack  would  be  likely  to  subdue.  There  was 
an  immediate  migration  of  Danites  to  this  fresh  field, 
and  in  prospect  of  bloody  work  the  men  of  Zorah  and 
Eshtaol  seem  to  have  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  rightness 
of  their  expedition ;  it  was  enough  that  they  had  felt 
themselves  straitened.  The  same  reason  appears  to 
suffice  many  in  modern  times.  Were  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  America  and  Australia  considered  by 
those  who  coveted  their  land  ?  Even  the  pretence  of 
buying  has  not  always  been  maintained.  Murder  and 
rapine  have  been  the  methods  used  by  men  of  our  own 
blood,  our  own  name,  and  no  nation  under  the  sun  has 
a  record  darker  than  the  tale  of  British  conquest. 

Men  who  go  forth  to  steal  land  are  quite  fit  to 
attempt  the  strange  business  of  stealing  gods — that  is 
appropriating  to  themselves  the  favour  of  divine  powers 
and  leaving  other  men  destitute.  The  Danites  as 
they  pass  Micah's  house  hear  from  their  spies  of  the 
priest  and  the  images  that  are  in  his  charge.  "Do 
you  know  that  there  is  in  these  houses  an  ephod  and 
teraphim  and  a  graven  image  and  a  molten  image? 
Now  therefore  consider  what  ye  have  to  do."  The 
hint  is  enough.  Soon  the  court  of  the  farmstead  is 
invaded,  the  images  are  brought  out  and  the  Levite 
Jonathan,  tempted  by  the  offer  of  being  made  priest 
to  a  clan,  is  fain  to  accompany  the  marauders.  Here 
is  confusion  on  confusion.  The  Danites  are  thieves, 
brigands,  and  yet  they  are  pious  ;  so  pious  that  they 
steal  images  to  assist  them  in  worship.  The  Levite 
agrees  to  the  theft  and  accepts  the  offer  of  priesthood 
under  them.  He  will  be  the  minister  of  a  set  of  thieves 
to  forward  their  evil  designs,  and  they  knowing  him  tg 


342  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

be  no  better  than  themselves  expect  that  his  sacrifices 
and  prayers  will  do  them  good.  It  is  surely  a  capital 
instance  of  perverted  religious  ideas. 

As  we  have  said,  these  circumstances  are  no  doubt 
recounted  in  order  to  show  how  dangerous  it  was  to 
separate  from  the  pure  order  of  worship  at  the  sanc- 
tuary. In  after  times  this  lesson  was  needed;  especially 
when  the  first  king  of  the  northern  tribes  set  his  golden 
calves  the  one  at  Bethel,  the  other  at  Dan.  Was  Israel 
to  separate  from  Judah  in  religion  as  well  as  in  govern- 
ment ?  Let  there  be  a  backward  look  to  the  beginning 
of  schism  in  those  extraordinary  doings  of  the  Danites. 
It  was  in  the  city  founded  by  the  six  hundred  that  one 
of  Jeroboam's  temples  was  built.  Could  any  blessing 
rest  upon  a  shrine  and  upon  devotions  which  had  such 
an  origin,  such  an  history  ? 

May  we  find  a  parallel  now  ?  Is  there  a  constituted 
religious  authority  with  which  soundness  of  belief  and 
acceptable  worship  are  so  bound  up  that  to  renounce 
the  authority  is  to  be  in  the  way  of  confusion  and  error, 
schism  and  eternal  loss  ?  The  Romanist  says  so. 
Those  who  speak  for  the  Papal  church  never  cease  to 
cry  to  the  world  that  within  their  communion  alone  are 
truth  and  safety  to  be  found.  Renounce,  they  say,  the 
apostolic  and  divine  authority  which  we  conserve  and 
all  is  gone.  Is  there  anarchy  in  a  country  ?  Are  the 
forces  that  make  for  political  disruption  and  national 
decay  showing  themselves  in  many  lands?  Are 
monarchies  overthrown  ?  Are  the  people  lawless  and 
wretched?  It  all  comes  of  giving  up  the  Catholic 
order  and  creed.  Return  to  the  one  fold  under  the 
one  Shepherd  if  you  would  find  prosperity.  And  there 
are  others  who  repeat  the  same  injunction,  not  indeed 
denying  that  there  may  be  saving  faith  apart  from  their 


xvii.,  xviii.]  THE  STOLEN   GODS,  343 

ritual,  but  insisting  still  that  it  is  an  error  and  a  sin  to 
seek  God  elsewhere  than  at  the  accredited  shrine. 

With  Jewish  ordinances  we  Christians  have  nothing 
to  do  when  we  are  judging  as  to  religious  order  and 
worship  now.  There  is  no  central  shrine,  no  exclusive 
human  authority.  Where  Christ  is,  there  is  the  temple  ; 
where  He  speaks,  the  individual  conscience  must 
respond.  The  work  of  salvation  is  His  alone,  and  the 
humblest  believer  is  His  consecrated  priest.  When  our 
Lord  said,  ''  The  hour  cometh  and  now  is  when  the  true 
worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in 
truth  " ;  and  again,  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  My  name  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them"; 
when  He  as  the  Son  of  God  held  out  His  hands 
directly  to  every  sinner  needing  pardon  and  every 
seeker  after  truth,  when  He  offered  the  one  sacrifice 
upon  the  cross  by  which  a  living  way  is  opened  into 
the  holiest  place,  He  broke  down  the  walls  of  partition 
and  with  the  responsibility  declared  the  freedom  of 
the  soul. 

And  here  we  reach  the  point  to  which  our  narrative 
applies  as  an  illustration.  Micah  and  his  household 
worshipping  the  images  of  silver,  the  Levite  officiating 
at  the  altar,  seeking  counsel  of  Jehovah  by  ephod  and 
teraphim,  the  Danites  who  steal  the  gods,  carry  off 
the  priest  and  set  up  a  new  worship  in  the  city  they 
build — all  these  represent  to  us  types  and  stages  of 
what  is  really  schism  pitiful  and  disastrous — that  is, 
separation  from  the  truth  of  things  and  from  the  sacred 
reahties  of  divine  faith.  Selfish  untruth  and  infidelity 
are  schism,  the  wilderness  and  outlawry  of  the  soul. 

I.  Micah  and  his  household,  with  their  chapel  of 
images,  their  ephod  and  teraphim  represent  those  who 
fall  into  the  superstition  that  religion  is  good  as  insuring 


344  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

temporal  success  and  prosperity,  that  God  will  see  to 
the  worldly  comfort  of  those  who  pay  respect  to  Him. 
Even  among  Christians  this  is  a  very  common  and  very 
debasing  superstition.  The  sacraments  are  often  ob- 
served as  signs  of  a  covenant  which  secures  for  men 
divine  favour  through  social  arrangements  and  human 
law.  The  spiritual  nature  and  power  of  religion  are 
not  denied,  but  they  are  uncomprehended.  The 
national  custom  and  the  worldly  hope  have  to  do  with 
the  observance  of  devout  forms  rather  than  any  move- 
ment of  the  soul  heavenward.  A  church  may  in  this 
way  become  like  Micah's  household,  and  prayer  may 
mean  seeking  good  terms  with  Him  who  can  fill  the 
land  with  plenty  or  send  famine  and  cleanness  of  teeth. 
Unhappily  many  worthy  and  most  devout  persons  still 
hold  the  creed  of  an  early  and  ignorant  time.  The 
secret  of  nature  and  providence  is  hid  from  them.  The 
severities  of  life  seem  to  them  to  be  charged  with 
anger,  and  the  valleys  of  human  reprobation  appear 
darkened  by  the  curse  of  God.  Instead  of  finding  in 
pain  and  loss  a  marvellous  divine  discipline  they  perceive 
only  the  penalty  of  sin,  a  sign  of  God's  aversion  not 
of  His  Fatherly  grace.  It  is  a  sad,  a  terrible  blindness 
of  soul.  We  can  but  note  it  here  and  pass  on,  for 
there  are  other  applications  of  the  old  story. 

2.  The  Levite  represents  an  unworthy  worldly 
ministry.  With  sadness  must  confession  be  made  that 
there  are  in  every  church  pastors  unspiritual,  world- 
lings in  heart  whose  desire  is  mainly  for  superiority  of 
rank  or  of  wealth,  who  have  no  vision  of  Christ's  cross 
and  battle  except  as  objective  and  historical.  Here, 
most  happily,  the  cases  of  complete  worldliness  are 
rare.  It  is  rather  a  tendency  we  observe  than  a 
developed  and  acknowledged  state  of  things.     Very  few 


.,xviii.]  THE  STOLEN  GODS.  345 


of  those  in  the  ranks  of  the  Christian  ministry  are 
entirely  concerned  with  the  respect  paid  to  them  in 
society  and  the  number  of  shekels  to  be  got  in  a  year. 
That  he  keeps  pace  with  the  crowd  instead  of  going 
before  it  is  perhaps  the  hardest  thing  that  can  be  said 
of  the  worldly  pastor.  He  is  humane,  active,  intelli- 
gent; but  it  is  for  the  church  as  a  great  institution, 
or  the  church  as  his  temporal  hope  and  stay.  So  his 
ministry  becomes  at  the  best  a  matter  of  serving  tables 
and  providing  alms — we  shall  not  say  amusement. 
Here  indeed  is  schism;  for  what  is  farther  from  the 
truth  of  things,  what  is  farther  from  Christ  ? 

3.  Once  more  we  have  with  us  to-day,  very  much 
with  us,  certain  Danites  of  science,  politics  and  the 
press  who,  if  they  could,  would  take  away  our  God 
and  our  Bible,  our  Eternal  Father  and  spiritual  hope, 
not  from  a  desire  to  possess  but  because  they  hate  to 
see  us  believing,  hate  to  see  any  weight  of  silver  given 
to  religious  uses.  Not  a  few  of  these  are  marching  as 
they  think  triumphantly  to  commanding  and  opulent 
positions  whence  they  will  rule  the  thought  of  the 
world.  And  on  the  way,  even  while  they  deride  and 
detest  the  supernatural,  they  will  have  the  priest  go 
with  them.  They  care  nothing  for  what  he  says ;  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  a  spiritual  teacher  is  an  absurdity 
of  which  they  would  not  be  guilty;  for  to  their  own 
vague  prophesying  all  mankind  is  to  give  heed,  and 
their  interpretations  of  human  life  are  to  be  received  as 
the  bible  of  the  age.  Of  the  same  order  is  the  socialist 
who  would  make  use  of  a  faith  he  intends  to  destroy 
and  a  priesthood  whose  claim  is  offensive  to  him  on 
his  way  to  what  he  calls  the  organization  of  society. 
In  his  view  the  uses  of  Christianity  and  the  Bible  are 
temporal   and    earthly.     He  will    not  have  Christ  the 


346  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Redeemer  of  the  soul,  yet  he  attempts  to  conjure  with 
Christ's  words  and  appropriate  the  power  of  His  name. 
The  audacity  of  these  would-be  robbers  is  matched 
only  by  their  ignorance  of  the  needs  and  ends  of 
human  life. 

We  might  here  refer  to  the  injustice  practised  by  one 
and  another  band  of  our  modern  Israel  who  do  not 
scruple  to  take  from  obscure  and  weak  households  of 
faith  the  sacraments  and  Christian  mmistry,  the  marks 
and  rights  of  brotherhood.  We  can  well  believe  that 
those  who  do  this  have  never  looked  at  their  action 
from  the  other  side,  and  may  not  have  the  least  idea 
of  the  soreness  they  leave  in  the  hearts  of  humble 
and  sincere  believers. 

In  fine,  the  Danites  with  the  images  of  Micah  went 
their  way  and  he  and  his  neighbours  had  to  suffer  the 
loss  and  make  the  best  of  their  empty  chapel  where  no 
oracle  thenceforth  spoke  to  them.  It  is  no  parable,  but 
a  very  real  example  of  the  loss  that  comes  to  all  who 
have  trusted  in  forms  and  symbols,  the  outward  signs 
instead  of  the  living  power  of  religion.  While  we 
repel  the  arrogance  that  takes  from  faith  its  symbolic 
props  and  stays  we  must  not  let  ourselves  deny  that 
the  very  rudeness  of  an  enemy  may  be  an  excellent 
discipline  for  the  Christian.  Agnosticism  and  science 
and  other  Danite  companies  sweep  with  them  a  good 
deal  that  is  dear  to  the  religious  mind  and  may  leave 
it  very  distressed  and  anxious— the  chapel  empty,  the 
oracle  as  it  may  appear  lost  for  ever.  With  the  symbol 
the  authority,  the  hope,  the  power  seem  to  be  lost  irre- 
coverably. What  now  has  faith  to  rest  upon  ?  But 
the  modern  spirit  with  its  resolution  to  sweep  away 
every  unfact  and  mere  form  is  no  destroyer.  Rather 
does  it  drive  the  Christian  to  a  science,  a  virtue  far 


xvii,,xviii.]  THE  STOLEN  GODS.  347 

beyond  its  own.  It  forces  we  may  say  on  faith  that 
severe  truthfulness  and  intellectual  courage  which  are 
the  proper  qualities  of  Christianity,  the  necessary 
counterpart  of  its  trust  and  love  and  grace.  In  short, 
when  enemies  have  carried  off  the  poor  teraphim  and 
fetishes  which  are  their  proper  capture  they  have  but 
compelled  religion  to  be  itself,  compelled  it  to  find  its 
spiritual  God,  its  eternal  creed  and  to  understand  its 
Bible.  This,  though  done  with  evil  intent,  is  surely  no 
cruelty,  no  outrage.  Shall  a  man  or  a  church  that  has 
been  so  roused  and  thrown  back  on  reality  sit  wailing 
in  the  empty  chapel  for  the  images  of  silver  and  the 
deliverances  of  the  hollow  ephod  ?  Everything  remains, 
the  soul  and  the  spiritual  world,  the  law  of  God,  the 
redemption  of  Christ,  the  Spirit  of  eternal  life. 


XXV. 

FROM  JUSTICE    TO    WILD  REVENGE. 
Judges  xix.-xxi. 

THESE  last  chapters  describe  a  general  and  vehe- 
ment outburst  of  moral  indignation  throughout 
Israel,  recorded  for  various  reasons.  A  vile  thing  is 
done  in  one  of  the  towns  of  Benjamin  and  the  fact  is 
published  in  all  the  tribes.  The  doers  of  it  are  defended 
by  their  clan  and  fearful  punishment  is  wrought  upon 
them,  not  without  suffering  to  the  entire  people.  Like 
the  incidents  narrated  in  the  chapters  immediately 
preceding,  these  must  have  occurred  at  an  early  stage 
in  the  period  of  the  judges,  and  they  afford  another 
illustration  of  the  peril  of  imperfect  government,  the 
need  for  a  vigorous  administration  of  justice  over  the 
land.  The  crime  and  the  volcanic  vengeance  belong 
to  a  time  when  there  was  ^'no  king  in  Israel"  and, 
despite  occasional  appeals  to  the  oracle,  "every  man 
did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  In  this 
we  have  one  clue  to  the  purpose  of  the  history. 

The  crime  of  Gibeah  brought  under  our  notice  here 
connects  itself  with  that  of  Sodom  and  represents  a 
phase  of  immorality  which,  indigenous  to  Canaan, 
mixed  its  putrid  current  with  Hebrew  life.  There  are 
traces  of  the  same  horrible  impurity  in  the  Judah  of 
Rehoboam  and  Asa ;  and  in  the  story  of  Josiah's  reign 


xix.-xxi.]  FROM  JUSTICE   TO    WILD  REVENGE,  349 

we  are  horrified  to  read  of  "  houses  of  Sodomites  that 
were  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  where  the  women 
wove  hangings  for  the  Asherah."  With  such  lurid 
historical  light  on  the  subject  we  can  easily  understand 
the  revival  of  this  warning  lesson  from  the  past  of 
Israel  and  the  fulness  of  detail  with  which  the  incidents 
are  recorded.  A  crime  originally  that  of  the  off-scour- 
ings  of  Gibeah  became  practically  the  sin  of  a  whole 
tribe,  and  the  war  that  ensued  sets  in  a  clear  light  the 
zeal  for  domestic  purity  which  was  a  feature  in  every 
religious  revival  and,  at  length,  in  the  life  of  the 
Hebrew  people. 

It  may  be  asked  how,  while  polygamy  was  practised 
among  the  Israehtes,  the  sin  of  Gibeah  could  rouse 
such  indignation  and  awaken  the  signal  vengeance  of 
the  united  tribes.  The  answer  is  to  be  found  partly  in 
the  singular  and  dreadful  device  which  the  indignant 
husband  used  in  making  the  deed  known.  The  ghastly 
symbols  of  outrage  told  the  tale  in  a  way  that  was 
fitted  to  stir  the  blood  of  the  whole  country.  Every- 
where the  hideous  thing  was  made  vivid  and  a  sense 
of  utmost  atrocity  was  kindled  as  the  dissevered  mem- 
bers were  borne  from  town  to  town.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  womanhood  must  have  been  stirred  to  the  fieriest 
indignation,  and  manhood  was  bound  to  follow.  What 
woman  could  be  safe  in  Gibeah  where  such  things 
were  done  ?  And  w^as  Gibeah  to  go  unpunished  ?  If 
so,  every  Hebrew  city  might  become  the  haunt  of 
miscreants.  Further  there  is  the  fact  that  the  woman 
so  foully  murdered,  though  a  concubine,  was  the  con- 
cubine of  a  Levite.^The  measure  of  sacredness  with 
which  the  Levites  were  invested  gave  to  this  crime, 
frightful  enough  in  any  view,  the  colour  of  sacrilege. 
How   degenerate    were    the    people    of    Gibeah   when 


35©  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

a  servant  of  the  altar  could  be  treated  with  such  foul 
indignity  and  driven  to  so  extraordinary  an  appeal  for 
justice?  There  could  be  no  blessing  on  the  tribes  if 
they  allowed  the  doers  or  condoners  of  this  thing  to  go 
unpunished.  Every  Levite  throughout  the  land  must 
have  taken  up  the  cry.  From  Bethel  and  other 
sanctuaries  the  call  for  vengeance  would  spread  and 
echo  till  the  nation  was  roused.  Thus,  in  part  at  least, 
we  can  explain  the  vehemence  of  feeling  which  drew 
together  the  whole  fighting  force  of  the  tribes. 

The  doubt  will  yet  remain  whether  there  could  have 
been  so  much  purity  of  life  or  respect  for  purity  as  to 
sustain  the  public  indignation.  Some  may  say,  Is  there 
not  here  a  sufficient  reason  for  questioning  the  veracity 
of  the  narrative  ?  First,  however,  let  it  be  remembered 
that  often  where  morals  are  far  from  reaching  the  level 
of  pure  monogamic  life  distinctions  between  right  and 
wrong  are  sharply  drawn.  Acquaintance  with  phases 
of  modern  life  that  are  most  painful  to  the  mind 
sensitively  pure  reveals  a  fixed  code  which  none  may 
infringe  without  bringing  upon  themselves  reprobation, 
perhaps  more  vehement  than  in  a  higher  social  grade 
visits  the  breach  of  a  higher  law.  It  is  the  fact  that 
concubinage  has  its  unwritten  acknowledgment  and 
protecting  customs.  There  is  marriage  that  is  only 
a  name  ;  there  is  concubinage  that  gives  the  woman 
more  rights  than  one  who  is  married.  Against  the 
immorality  and  the  gross  evils  of  cohabitation  is  to 
be  set  this  unwritten  law.  And  arguing  from  popular 
feeling  in  our  great  cities  we  reach  the  conclusion  that 
in  ancient  Israel  where  concubinage  prevailed  there  was 
a  wide  and  keen  feeling  as  to  the  rights  of  concu- 
bines and  the  necessity  of  upholding  them.  Many 
women  must  have  been  in  this  relation,  below  those 


^flc-xxi.]  FROM  JUSTICE   TO   WILD  REVENGE,  351 


who  could  count  themselves  legally  married,  and  all 
the  more  that  the  concubine  occupied  a  place  inferior 
to  that  of  the  lawful  wife  would  popular  opinion  take 
up  her  cause  and  demand  the  punishment  of  those  who 
did  her  wrong. 

And  here  we  are  led  to  a  point  which  demands  clear 
statement  and  recognition.  It  has  been  too  readily 
supposed  that  polygamy  is  always  a  result  of  moral 
decHne  and  indicates  a  low  state  of  domestic  purity. 
It  may,  in  truth,  be  a  rude  step  of  progress.  Has  it 
been  sufficiently  noted  that  in  those  countries  in  which 
the  name  of  the  mother  not  of  .the  father  descended  to 
the  children  the  reason  may  be  found  in  universal  or 
almost  universal  unchastity  ?  In  Egypt  at  one  time  the 
law  gave  to  women,  especially  to  mothers,  peculiar 
rights;  but  to  praise  Egyptian  civilization  for  this 
reason  and  hold  up  its  treatment  of  women  as  an 
example  to  the  nineteenth  century  is  an  extraordinary 
venture.  The  Israelites,  however  lax,  were  doubtless  in 
advance  of  the  society  of  Thebes.  Among  the  Canaanites 
the  moral  degradation  of  women,  whatever  freedom 
may  have  gone  with  it,  was  so  terrible  that  the  Hebrew 
with  his  two  or  three  wives  and  concubines,  but  with 
a  morality  otherwise  severe,  must  have  represented  a 
new  and  holier  social  order  as  well  as  a  new  and  holier 
religion.  It  is  therefore  not  incredible  but  appears 
simply  in  accordance  with  the  instincts  and  customs 
proper  to  the  Hebrew  people  that  the  sin  of  Gibeah 
should  provoke  overwhelming  indignation.  There  is 
no  pretence  of  purity,  no  hypocritical  anger.  The 
feeHng  is  sound  and  real.  Perhaps  in  no  other  matter 
of  a  moral  kind  would  there  have  been  such  intense 
and  unanimous  exasperation.  A  point  of  justice  or  of 
belief  would  not  have  so  moved  the  tribes.     The  better 


352  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES, 

self  of  Israel  appears  asserting  its  claim  and  power. 
And  the  miscreants  of  Gibeah  representing  the  lower 
self,  verily  an  unclean  spirit,  are  detested  and  denounced 
on  every  hand. 

The  time  was  that  of  fresh  feeling,  unwarped  by 
those  customs  which  in  the  guise  of  civilisation  and 
refinement  afterwards  corrupted  the  nation.  And  we 
may  see  the  prophetic  or  hortatory  use  of  the  narrative 
for  an  after  age  in  which  doings  as  vile  as  those  at 
Gibeah  were  sanctioned  by  the  court  and  protected 
even  by  religious  leaders.  It  would  be  hoped  by  the 
sacred  historian  that  this  tale  of  the  fierce  indignation 
of  the  tribes  might  rouse  afresh  the  same  moral  feeling. 
He  would  fain  stir  a  careless  people  and  their  priests  by 
the  exhibition  of  this  tumultuous  vengeance.  Nor  can 
we  say  that  the  necessity  for  the  impressive  lesson  has 
ceased.  In  the  heart  of  our  large  cities  vices  as  vile  as 
those  of  Gibeah  are  heard  muttering  in  the  nightfall, 
life  as  abandoned  lurks  and  festers  creating  a  social 
gangrene. 

Recognise,  then,  in  these  chapters  a  truth  for  all  time 
boldly  drawn  out — the  great  truth  as  to  moral  reform 
and  national  purity.  Law  will  not  cure  moral  evils; 
a  statute  book  the  purest  and  noblest  will  not  save. 
Those  who  by  the  impulse  of  the  Spirit  gathered  the 
various  traditions  of  Israel's  Hfe  knew  well  that  on 
a  living  conscience  in  men  everything  depended,  and 
they  at  least  indicate  the  further  truth  which  many 
of  ourselves  have  not  grasped,  that  the  early  and  rude 
workings  of  conscience,  producing  stormy  and  terrible 
results,  are  a  necessary  stage  of  development.  As 
there  must  be  energy  before  there  can  be  noble  energy, 
so  there  must  be  moral  vigour,  it  may  be  rude,  violent, 
ignorant,    a    stream    rushing   out   of   barbarian  hills, 


xix.-xxi.]  FROM  JUSTICE   70    WILD  REVENGE.  353 

sweeping  with  most  appalling  vehemence,  before  there 
can  be  spiritual  life  patient  calm  and  holy.  Law  is  a 
product  not  a  cause ;  it  is  not  the  code  we  make  that 
will  preserve  us  but  the  God-given  conscience  that 
informs  the  code  and  ever  goes  before  it  a  pillar  of  fire, 
at  times  flashing  vivid  lightning.  Even  Christian  law 
cannot  save  a  people  if  it  be  merely  a  series  of  injunc- 
tions. Nothing  will  do  but  the  mind  of  Christ  in  every 
man  and  woman  continually  inspiring  and  directing 
life.  The  reformer  who  thinks  that  a  statute  or  regu- 
lation will  end  some  sin  or  evil  custom  is  in  sad  error. 
Say  the  decree  he  contends  for  is  enacted;  but  have 
the  consciences  of  those  against  whom  it  is  made 
been  quickened  ?  If  not,  the  law  merely  expresses  a 
popular  mood  and  the  life  of  the  whole  community 
will  not  be  permanently  raised  in  tone. 

The  church  finds  here  a  perpetual  mission  of  influ- 
ence. Her  doctrine  is  but  half  her  message.  From  the 
doctrine  as  from  an  eternal  fount  must  go  Hfe-giving 
moral  heat  in  every  range,  and  the  Spirit  is  ever  with 
her  to  make  the  word  like  a  fire.  Her  duty  is  wide 
as  righteousness,  great  as  man's  destiny  ;  it  is  never 
ended,  for  each  generation  comes  in  a  new  hour  with 
new  needs.  The  church,  say  some,  is  finishing  its 
work ;  it  is  doomed  to  be  one  of  the  broken  moulds  of 
life.  But  the  church  that  is  the  instructor  of  conscience 
and  kindles  the  flame  of  righteousness  has  a  mission 
to  the  ages.  We  are  far  yet  from  that  day  of  the  Lord 
when  all  the  people  shall  be  prophets  ;  and  until  then 
how  can  the  world  live  without  the  church  ?  It  would 
be  a  body  without  a  soul. 

Conscience  the  oracle  of  life,  conscience  working 
badly  rather  than  held  in  chains  of  mere  rule  without 
spontaneity  and  inspiration,  moral  energy  widespread 

23 


354  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

personal  and  keen,  however  rude — here  is  one  of  the 
notes  of  the  sacred  writer ;  and  another  note,  no  less 
distinct,  is  the  assertion  of  moral  intolerance.  It  has 
not  occurred  to  this  prophetic  annalist  that  endurance  of 
evil  has  any  curative  power.  He  is  a  Hebrew,  full  of 
indignation  against  the  vile  and  false,  and  he  demands 
a  heat  of  moral  force  in  his  people.  Foul  things  are 
done  at  the  court  and  even  in  the  temple ;  there  is  a 
depraving  indifference  to  purity,  a  loose  notion  (very 
similar  to  the  idea  of  our  day),  that  all  the  sides  of 
life  should  have  free  play  and  that  the  heathen  had 
much  to  teach  Israel.  The  whole  of  the  narrative 
beforQ  us  is  infused  with  a  righteous  protest  against 
evil,  a  holy  plea  for  intolerance  of  sin.  Will  men 
refuse  instruction  and  persist  in  making  themselves 
one  with  bestiality  and  outrage  ?  Then  judgment 
must  deal  with  them  on  the  ground  they  have  chosen 
to  occupy,  and  until  they  repent  the  conscience  of 
the  race  must  repudiate  them  together  with  their  sin. 
Along  with  a  keenly  burning  conscience  there  goes  this 
necessity  of  moral  intolerance.  Charity  is  good,  but 
not  always  in  place ;  and  brotherhood  itself  demands 
at  times  strong  uncompromising  judgment  of  the  evil- 
doer. I  low  else  among  men  of  weak  wills  and  waver- 
ing hearts  can  righteousness  vindicate  and  enforce 
itself  as  the  eternal  reality  of  life  ?  Compassion  is 
strong  only  when  it  is  linked  to  unfaltering  declara- 
tions;  mercy  is  divine  only  when  it  turns  a  front  of 
mail  to  wickedness  and  flashes  lightning  at  proud  wrong. 
Ally  other  kind  of  charity  is  but  a  new  offence — the 
sinner  pardoning  sin. 

Now  the  people  of  Gibeah  were  not  all  vile.  The 
wretches  whose  crime  called  for  judgment  were  but  the 
rabble  of  the  town.     And  we  can  see  that  the  tribes 


xix.-xxi.]   FROM  JUSTICE   TO    JVILD  REVENGE,  355 

when  they  gathered  in  indignation  were  made  serious 
by  the  thought  that  the  righteous  might  be  punished 
with  the  wicked.  We  are  told  that  they  went  up  to  the 
sanctuary  and  asked  counsel  of  the  Lord  whether  they 
should  attack  the  convicted  city.  There  was  a  full 
muster  of  the  fighting  men,  their  blood  at  fever  heat, 
yet  they  would  not  advance  without  an  oracle.  It  was 
an  appeal  to  heavenly  justice,  afid  demands  notice  as  a 
striking  feature  of  the  whole  terrible  series  of  events. 
For  an  hour  there  is  silence  in  the  camp  till  a  higher 
voice  shall  speak. 

But  what  is  the  issue  ?  The  oracle  decrees  an 
immediate  attack  on  Gibeah  in  the  face  of  all  Benjamin 
which  has  shown  the  temper  of  heathenism  by  refusing 
to  give  up  the  criminals.  Once  and  again  there  is  trial 
of  battle  which  ends  in  defeat  of  the  allied  tribes.  The 
wrong  triumphs  ;  the  people  have  to  return  humbled 
and  weeping  to  the  Sacred  Presence  and  sit  fasting  and 
disconsolate  before  the  Lord. 

Not  without  the  suffering  of  the  entire  community  is 
a  great  evil  to  be  purged  from  a  land.  It  is  easy  to 
execute  a  murderer,  to  imprison  a  felon.  But  the  spirit 
of  the  murderer,  of  the  felon,  is  widely  diffused,  and 
that  has  to  be  cast  out.  In  the  great  moral  struggle 
year  after  year  the  better  have  not  only  the  openly  vile 
but  all  who  are  tainted,  all  who  are  weak  in  soul,  loose 
in  habit,  secretly  sympathetic  with  the  vile,  arrayed 
against  them.  There  is  a  sacrifice  of  the  good  before 
the  evil  are  overcome.  In  vicarious  suffering  many 
must  pay  the  penalty  of  crimes  not  their  own  ere  the 
wide-reaching  wickedness  can  be  seen  in  its  demonic 
power  and  struck  down  as  the  cruel  enemy  of  the 
people. 

When  an  assault  is  made  on  some  vile  custom  the 


j56  the  book  of  judges. 

sardonic  laugh  is  heard  of  those  who  find  their  profit 
and  their  pleasure  in  it.  They  feel  their  power.  They 
know  the  wide  sympathy  with  them  spread  secretly 
through  the  land.  Once  and  again  the  feeble  attempt 
of  the  good  is  repelled.  With  sad  hearts,  with  im- 
poverished means,  those  who  led  the  crusade  retire 
baffled  and  weary.  Has  their  method  been  unintelli- 
gent ?  There  very  poSsibly  lies  the  cause  of  its  failure. 
Or,  perhaps,  it  has  been,  though  nominally  inspired 
by  an  oracle,  all  too  human,  weak  through  human 
pride.  Not  till  they  gain  with  new  and  deeper  devotion 
to  the  glory  of  God,  with  more  humility  and  faith,  a 
clearer  view  of  the  battle-ground  and  a  better  ordering 
of  the  war  shall  defeat  be  changed  into  victory.  And 
may  it  not  be  that  the  assault  on  moral  evils  of  our 
day,  in  which  multitudes  are  professedly  engaged,  in 
which  also  many  have  spent  substance  and  life,  shall 
fail  till  there  is  a  true  humiliation  of  the  armies  of  God 
before  Him,  a  new  consecration  to  higher  and  more 
spiritual  ends  ?  Human  virtue  has  ever  to  be  jealous 
of  itself,  the  reformer  may  so  easily  become  a  Pharisee. 
The  tide  turned  and  there  came  another  danger, 
that  which  waits  on  ebullitions  of  popular  feeling.  A 
crowd  roused  to  anger  is  hard  to  control,  and  the  tribes 
having  once  tasted  vengeance  did  not  cease  till  Ben- 
jamin was  almost  exterminated.  The  slaughter  ex- 
tended not  only  to  the  fighting  men,  but  to  women  and 
children.  The  six  hundred  who  fled  to  the  rock-fort 
of  Rimmon  appear  as  the  only  survivors  of  the  clan. 
Justice  overshot  its  mark  and  for  one  evil  made  another. 
Those  who  had  most  fiercely  used  the  sword  viewed 
the  result  with  horror  and  amazement,  for  a  tribe  was 
lacking  in  Israel.  Nor  was  this  the  end  of  slaughter. 
iNext  for  the  sake  of  Benjamin  the  sword  was  drawn 


xlx.-xxi.]   FROM  JUSTICE   TO    WILD  REVENGE.  357 

and  the  men  of  Jabesh-gilead  were  butchered.  It  has 
to  be  noticed  that  the  oracle  is  not  made  responsible 
for  this  horrible  process  of  evil.  The  people  came  of 
their  own  accord  to  the  decision  which  annihilated 
Jabesh-gilead.  But  they  gave  it  a  pious  colour  ; 
religion  and  cruelty  went  together,  sacrifices  to  Jehovah 
and  this  frightful  outbreak  of  demonism.  It  is  one  of 
the  dark  chapters  of  human  history.  For  the  sake  of 
an  oath  and  an  idea  death  was  dealt  remorselessly. 
No  voice  suggested  that  the  people  of  Jabesh  may  have 
been  more  cautious  than  the  rest,  not  less  faithful  to 
the  law  of  God.  The  others  were  resolved  to  appear 
to  themselves  to  have  been  right  in  almost  annihilating 
Benjamin  ;  and  the  town  which  had  not  joined  in  the 
work  of  destruction  must  be  punished. 

The  warning  conveyed  here  is  intensely  keen.  It 
is  that  men,  made  doubtful  by  the  issue  of  their  actions 
whether  they  have  done  wisely,  may  fly  to  the  resolu- 
tion to  justify  themselves  and  may  do  so  even  at  the 
expense  of  justice ;  that  a  nation  may  pass  from  the 
right  way  to  the  wrong  and  then,  having  sunk  to 
extraordinary  baseness  and  malignity,  may  turn  writhing 
and  self-condemned  to  add  cruelty  to  cruelty  in  the 
attempt  to  still  the  upbraidings  of  conscience.  It  is 
that  men  in  the  heat  of  passion  which  began  with 
resentment  against  evil  may  strike  at  those  who  have 
not  joined  in  their  errors  as  well  as  those  who  truly 
deserve  reprobation.  We  stand,  nations  and  individuals, 
in  constant  danger  of  dreadful  extremes,  a  kind  of 
insanity  hurrying  us  on  when  the  blood  is  heated 
by  strong  emotion.  Blindly  attempting  to  do  right  we 
do  evil,  and  again,  having  done  the  evil  we  blindly 
strive  to  remedy  it  by  doing  more.  In  times  of  moral 
darkness  and  chaotic  social  conditions,  when  men  are 


358  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

guided  by  a  few  rude  principles,  things  are  done  that 
afterwards  appal  themselves,  and  yet  may  become  an 
example  for  future  outbreaks.  During  the  fury  of  their 
Revolution  the  French  people,  with  some  watchwords 
of  the  true  ring  as  liberty,  fraternity,  turned  hither  and 
thither,  now  in  terror,  now  panting  after  dimly  seen 
justice  or  hope,  and  it  was  always  from  blood  to  blood. 
We  understand  the  juncture  in  ancient  Israel  and 
realize  the  excitement  and  the  rage  of  a  self-jealous 
people  when  we  read  the  modern  tales  of  surging 
ferocity  in  which  men  appear  now  hounding  the 
shouting  crowd  to  vengeance  then  shuddering  on  the 
scaffold. 

In  private  life  the  story  has  an  application  against 
wild  and  violent  methods  of  self-vindication.  Many  a 
man,  hurried  on  by  a  just  anger  against  one  who  has 
done  him  wrong,  sees  to  his  horror  after  a  sharp  blow 
is  struck  that  he  has  broken  a  life  and  thrown  a  brother 
bleeding  to  the  dust.  One  wrong  thing  has  been  done 
perhaps  more  in  haste  than  vileness  of  purpose,  and 
retribution,  hasty,  ill-considered,  leaves  the  moral 
question  tenfold  more  confused.  When  all  is  reckoned 
we  find  it  impossible  to  say  where  the  right  is,  where 
the  wrong. 

Passing  to  the  final  expedient  adopted  by  the  chiefs 
of  Israel  to  rectify  their  error — the  rape  of  the  women 
at  Shiloh — we  see  only  to  how  pitiful  a  pass  moral 
blundering  brings  those  who  fall  into  it :  other  moral 
teaching  there  is  none.  We  might  at  first  be  disposed 
to  say  that  there  was  extraordinary  want  of  reverence 
for  religious  order  and  engagements  when  the  men  of 
Benjamin  were  invited  to  make  a  sacred  festival  the 
occasion  of  taking  what  the  other  tribes  had  solemnly 
vowed  not  to  give.     But  the  festival  at  Shiloh  must 


xix.-xxi.]   FROM  PJSTICE   TO    WILD  REVENGE.  359 

have  been  far  more  of  a  merry-making  than  of  a  sacred 
assembly.  It  needs  to  be  recognised  that  many  gather- 
ings even  in  honour  of  Jehovah  were  mainly,  like  those 
of  Canaanite  worship,  for  hilarity  and  feasting.  There 
was  probably  no  great  incongruity  between  the  occasion 
and  the  plot. 

But  the  scenes  certainly  change  in  the  course  of  this 
narrative  with  extraordinary  swiftness.  Fierce  indigna- 
tion is  followed  by  pity,  weeping  for  defeat  by  tears  for 
too  complete  a  victory.  Horrible  bloodshed  wastes  the 
cities  and  in  a  month  there  is  dancing  in  the  plain  of 
Shiloh  not  ten  miles  from  the  field  of  battle.  Chaotic 
indeed  are  the  morality  and  the  history  ;  but  it  is  the 
disorder  of  social  life  in  its  early  stages,  with  the 
vehemence  and  tenderness,  the  ferocity  and  laughter  of 
a  nation's  youth.  And,  all  along,  the  Book  of  Judges 
bears  the  stamp  of  veracity  as  a  series  of  records 
because  these  very  features  are  to  be  seen — this 
tumult,  this  undisciplined  vehemence  in  feeling  and  act. 
Were  we  told  here  of  decorous  solemn  progress  at  slow 
march,  every  army  going  forth  with  some  stereotyped 
invocation  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  every  leader  a  man  of 
conventional  piety  supported  by  a  blameless  priesthood 
and  orderly  sacrifices,  we  should  have  had  no  evidence 
of  truth.  The  traditions  preserved  here,  whoever 
collected  them,  are  singularly  free  from  that  idyllic 
colour  which  an  imaginative  writer  would  have  endea- 
voured to  give. 

At  the  last,  accordingly,  the  book  w^e  have  been 
reading  stands  a  real  piece  of  history,  proving  itself 
over  every  kind  of  suspicion  a  true  record  of  a  people 
chosen  and  guided  to  a  destiny  greater  than  any  other 
race  of  man  has  known.  A  people  understanding  its 
call  and  responding  with  eagerness   at   every  point  ? 


36o  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES. 

Nay.  The  world  is  in  the  heart  of  Israel  as  of  every 
other  nation.  The  carnal  attracts,  and  malignant  cries 
overbear  the  divine  still  voice ;  the  air  of  Canaan 
breathes  in  every  page,  and  we  need  to  recollect  that 
we  are  viewing  the  turbulent  upper- waters  of  the 
nation  and  the  faith.  But  the  working  of  God  is 
plain ;  the  divine  thoughts  we  believed  Israel  to  have 
in  trust  for  the  world  are  truly  with  it  from  the  first, 
though  darkened  by  altars  of  Baal  and  of  Ashtoreth. 
The  Word  and  Covenant  of  Jehovah  are  vital  facts  of 
the  supernatural  which  surrounds  that  poor  struggling 
erring  Hebrew  flock.  Theocracy  is  a  divine  fact  in 
a  larger  sense  than  has  ever  been  attached  to  the  word. 
Inspiration  too  is  no  dream,  for  the  history  is  charged 
with  intimations  of  the  spiritual  order.  The  light  of  the 
unrealized  end  flashes  on  spear  and  altar,  and  in  the 
frequent  roll  of  the  storm  the  voice  of  the  Eternal  is 
heard  declaring  righteousness  and  truth.  No  story 
this  to  praise  a  dynasty  or  magnify  a  conquering 
nation  or  support  a  priesthood.  Nothing  so  faithful, 
so  true  to  heaven  and  to  human  nature  could  be  done 
from  that  motive.  We  have  here  an  imperishable 
chapter  in  the  Book  of  God. 


THE    BOOK    OF    RUTH. 


NAOMFS  BURDEN. 
Ruth  i.  1-13. 


LEAVING  the  Book  of  Judges  and  opening  the 
story  of  Ruth  we  pass  from  vehement  out-door 
life,  from  tempest  and  trouble  into  quiet  domestic 
scenes.  After  an  exhibition  of  the  greater  movements 
of  a  people  we  are  brought,  as  it  were,  to  a  cottage 
interior  in  the  soft  light  of  an  autumn  evening,  to  obscure 
lives  passing  through  the  cycles  of  loss  and  comfort, 
affection  and  sorrow.  We  have  seen  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  a  nation's  fidelity  and  fortune,  a  few  leaders  appear- 
ing clearly  on  the  stage  and  behind  them  a  multitude 
indefinite,  indiscriminate,  the  thousands  who  form  the 
ranks  of  battle  and  die  on  the  field,  who  sway  together 
from  Jehovah  to  Baal  and  back  to  Jehovah  again. 
What  the  Hebrews  were  at  home,  how  they  lived  in 
the  villages  of  Judah  or  on  the  slopes  of  Tabor  the 
narrative  has  not  paused  to  speak  of  with  detail.  Now 
there  is  leisure  after  the  strife  and  the  historian  can 
describe  old  customs  and  family  events,  can  show  us 
the  toihng  flockmaster,  the  busy  reapers,  the  women 
with  their  cares  and  uncertainties,  the  love  and  labour 
of  simple  life.  Thunderclouds  of  sin  and  judgment 
have  rolled  over  the  scene;  but  they  have  cleared 
away  and    we    see    human    nature   in    examples    that 


364  THE  BOOK  01'  RUTH. 

become  familiar  to  us,  no  longer  in  weird  shadow  or 
vivid  lightning  flash,  but  as  we  commonly  know  it, 
homely,  erring,  enduring,  imperfect,  not  unblest. 

Bethlehem  is  the  scene,  quiet  and  lonely  on  its  high 
ridge  overlooking  the  Judaean  wilderness.  The  little  city 
never  had  much  part  in  the  eager  life  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  yet  age  after  age  some  event  notable  in  history, 
some  death  or  birth  or  some  prophetic  word  drew  the 
eyes  of  Israel  to  it  in  affection  or  in  hope ;  and  to  us 
the  Saviour's  birth  there  has  so  distinguished  it  as  one 
of  the  most  sacred  spots  on  earth  that  each  incident 
in  the  fields  or  at  the  gate  appears  charged  with  predic- 
tive meaning,  each  reference  in  psalm  or  prophecy  has 
tender  significance.  We  see  the  company  of  Jacob  on  a 
journey  through  Canaan  halt  by  the  way  near  Ephrath, 
which  is  Bethlehem,  and  from  the  tents  there  comes 
a  sound  of  wailing.  The  beloved  Rachel  is  dead.  Yet 
she  lives  in  a  child  new-born,  the  mother's  Son  of 
Sorrow,  who  becomes  to  the  father  Benjamin,  Son  of  the 
Right  Hand.  The  sword  pierces  a  loving  heart,  but 
hope  springs  out  of  pain  and  life  out  of  death.  Gene- 
rations pass  and  in  these  fields  of  Bethlehem  we  see 
Ruth  gleaning,  Ruth  the  Moabitess,  a  stranger  and 
foreigner  who  has  sought  refuge  under  the  shadow  of 
Jehovah's  wings  ;  and  at  yonder  gate  she  is  saved  from 
want  and  widowhood,  finding  in  Boaz  her  goel  and 
menuchah^  her  redeemer  and  rest.  Later,  another 
birth,  this  time  within  the  walls,  the  birth  of  one  long 
despised  by  his  brethren,  gives  to  Israel  a  poet  and  a 
king,  the  sweet  singer  of  divine  psalms,  the  hero  of 
a  hundred  fights.  And  here  again  we  see  the  three 
mighty  men  of  David's  troop  breaking  through  the 
Philistine  host  to  fetch  for  their  chief  a  draught  from 
the  cool  spring  by  the  gate.      Prophecy,    too,   leaves 


i.  I-I3.]  NAOMI'S  BUR  DEIST.  365 

Israel  looking  to  the  city  on  the  hill.  Micah  seems 
to  grasp  the  secret  of  the  ages  when  he  exclaims, 
"  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephrathah,  which  art  little  to  be 
among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  out  of  thee  shall  one 
come  forth  unto  Me  that  is  to  be  the  ruler  in  Israel; 
whose  goings  forth  are  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 
For  centuries  there  is  suspense,  and  then  over  the 
quiet  plain  below  the  hill  is  heard  the  evangel  :  "  Be 
not  afraid :  for,  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of 
great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  the  people :  for  there  is 
born  to  you  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  Remembering  this  glory 
of  Bethlehem  we  turn  to  the  story  of  humble  life  there 
in  the  days  when  the  judges  ruled,  with  deep  interest 
in  the  people  of  the  ancient  city,  the  race  from  which 
David  sprang,  of  which  Mary  was  born. 

Jephthah  had  scattered  Ammon  behind  the  hills  and 
the  Hebrews  dwelt  in  comparative  peace  and  security. 
The  sanctuary  at  Shiloh  was  at  length  recognised  as 
the  centre  of  religious  influence ;  Eli  was  in  the  begin- 
ing  of  his  priesthood,  and  orderly  worship  was  main- 
tained before  the  ark.  People  could  live  quietly  about 
Bethlehem,  although  Samson,  fitfully  acting  the  part 
of  champion  on  the  Phihstine  border,  had  his  work  in 
restraining  the  enemy  from  an  advance.  Yet  all  was 
not  well  in  the  homesteads  of  Judah,  for  drought  is 
as  terrible  a  foe  to  the  flockmaster  as  the  Arab  hordes, 
and  all  the  south  lands  were  parched  and  unfruitful. 

We  are  to  follow  the  story  of  Elimelech,  his  wife 
Naomi  and  their  sons  Mahlon  and  Chilion  whose  home 
at  Bethlehem  is  about  to  be  broken  up.  The  sheep 
are  dying  in  the  bare  glens,  the  cattle  in  the  fields. 
From  the  soil  usually  so  fertile  little  corn  has  been 


366  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

reaped.  Elimelech,  seeing  his  possessions  melt  away, 
has  decided  to  leave  Judah  for  a  time  so  as  to  save 
what  remains  to  him  till  the  famine  is  over,  and  he 
chooses  the  nearest  refuge,  the  watered  Field  of  Moab 
beyond  the  Salt  Sea.  It  was  not  far ;  he  could  imagine 
himself  returning  soon  to  resume  the  accustomed  life 
in  the  old  home.  True  Hebrews,  these  Ephrathites  were 
not  seeking  an  opportunity  to  cast  off  pious  duty  and 
break  with  Jehovah  in  leaving  His  land.  Doubtless 
they  hoped  that  God  would  bless  their  going,  prosper 
them  in  Moab  and  bring  them  back  in  good  time.  It 
was  a  trial  to  go,  but  what  else  could  they  do,  life 
itself,  as  they  believed,  being  at  hazard  ? 

With  thoughts  like  these  men  often  leave  the  land 
of  their  birth,  the  scenes  of  early  faith,  and  oftener 
still  without  any  pressure  of  necessity  or  any  purpose 
of  returning.  Emigration  appears  to  be  forced  upon 
many  in  these  times,  the  compulsion  coming  not  from 
Providence  but  from  man  and  man's  law.  It  is  also 
an  outlet  for  the  spirit  of  adventure  w^hich  characterizes 
some  races  and  has  made  them  the  heirs  of  continents. 
Against  emigration  it  would  be  folly  to  speak,  but  great 
is  the  responsibility  of  those  by  whose  action  or  want 
of  action  it  is  forced  upon  others.  May  it  not  be  said 
that  in  every  European  land  there  are  persons  in  power 
whose  existence  is  like  a  famine  to  a  whole  country- 
side ?  Emigration  is  talked  of  glibly  as  if  it  were  no 
loss  but  always  gain,  as  if  to  the  mass  of  men  the 
traditions  and  customs  of  their  native  land  were  mere 
rags  well  parted  with.  But  it  is  clear  from  innumerable 
examples  that  many  lose  what  they  never  find  again, 
of  honour,  seriousness  and  faith. 

The  last  thing  thought  of  by  those  who  compel 
emigration  and  many  who  undertake  it  of  their  own 


1. 1-I3.]  NAOMVS  BURDEN.  367 

accord  is  the  moral  result.  That  which  should  be  first 
considered  is  often  not  considered  at  all.  Granting  the 
advantages  of  going  from  a  land  that  is  over-populated 
to  some  fertile  region  as  yet  lying  waste,  allowing 
what  cannot  be  denied  that  material  progress  and 
personal  freedom  result  from  these  movements  of 
population,  yet  the  risk  to  individuals  is  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  worldly  attraction.  It  is  certain  that  in 
many  regions  to  which  the  stream  of  migration  is 
flowing  the  conditions  of  life  are  better  and  the  natural 
environment  purer  than  they  are  in  the  heart  of  large 
European  cities.  But  this  does  not  satisfy  the  religious 
thinker.  Modern  colonies  have  indeed  done  marvels 
for  political  independence,  for  education  and  comfort. 
Their  success  here  is  splendid.  But  do  they  see  the 
danger?  So  much  achieved  in  short  time  for  the 
secular  life  tends  to  withdraw  attention  from  the  root 
of  spiritual  growth — simplicity  and  moral  earnestness. 
The  pious  emigrant  has  to  ask  himself  whether  his 
children  will  have  the  same  thought  for  religion  beyond 
the  sea  as  they  would  have  at  home,  whether  he  himself 
is  strong  enough  to  maintain  his  testimony  while  he 
seeks  his  fortune. 

We  may  believe  that  the  Bethlehemite  if  he  made  a 
mistake  in  removing  to  Moab  acted  in  good  faith  and 
did  not  lose  his  hope  of  the  divine  blessing.  Probably 
he  would  have  said  that  Moab  was  just  Hke  home. 
The  people  spoke  a  language  similar  to  Hebrew,  and 
like  the  tribes  of  Israel  they  were  partly  husbandmen 
partly  keepers  of  cattle.  In  the  "  Field  of  Moab,"  that 
is  the  upland  canton  bounded  by  the  Arnon  on  the 
north,  the  mountains  on  the  east  and  the  Dead  Sea 
precipices  on  the  west,  people  lived  very  much  as  they 
did  about  Bethlehem,  only  more  safely  and  in  greater 


368  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

comfort.  But  the  worship  was  of  Chemosh,  and 
Elimelech  must  soon  have  discovered  how  great  a 
difference  that  made  in  thought  and  social  custom  and 
in  the  feehng  of  men  toward  himself  and  his  family. 
The  rites  of  the  god  of  Moab  included  festivals  in 
which  humanity  was  disgraced.  Standing  apart  from 
these  he  must  have  found  his  prosperity  hindered,  for 
Chemosh  was  lord  in  everything.  An  alien  who  had 
come  for  his  own  advantage  yet  refused  the  national 
customs  would  be  scorned  at  least  if  not  persecuted. 
Life  in  Moab  became  an  exile,  the  Bethlehemites  saw 
that  hardship  in  their  own  land  would  have  been  as 
easy  to  endure  as  the  disdain  of  the  heathen  and  con- 
stant temptations  to  vile  conformity.  The  family  had  a 
hard  struggle,  not  holding  their  own  and  yet  ashamed 
to  return  to  Judah. 

Already  we  have  a  picture  of  wayworn  human  lives 
tried  on  one  side  by  the  rigour  of  nature,  on  the  other 
by  unsympathetic  fellow-creatures,  and  the  picture 
becomes  more  pathetic  as  new  touches  are  added  to  it. 
Elimelech  died ;  the  young  men  married  women  of 
Moab ;  and  in  ten  years  only  Naomi  was  left,  a  widow 
with  her  widowed  daughters-in-law.  The  narrative 
adds  shadow  to  shadow.  The  Hebrew  woman  in  her 
bereavement,  with  the  care  of  two  lads  who  were  some- 
what indifferent  to  the  religion  she  cherished,  touches 
our  sympathies.  We  feel  for  her  when  she  has  to 
consent  to  the  marriage  of  her  sons  with  heathen 
women,  for  it  seems  to  close  all  hope  of  return  to  her 
own  land  and,  sore  as  this  trial  is,  there  is  a  deeper 
trouble.  She  is  left  childless  in  the  country  of  exile. 
Yet  all  is  not  shadow.  Life  never  is  entirely  dark 
unless  with  those  who  have  ceased  to  trust  in  God  and 
care  for  man.     While  we  have  compassion  on  Naomi 


1 1-13.]  NAOMVS  BURDEN.  3^9 

we  must  also  admire  her.  An  Israelite  among  heathen 
she  keeps  her  Hebrew  ways,  not  in  bitterness  but  in 
gentle  fidelity.  Loving  her  native  place  more  warmly 
than  ever  she  so  speaks  of  it  and  praises  it  as  to  make 
her  daughters-in-law  think  of  settling  there  with  her. 
The  influence  of  her  religion  is  upon  them  both,  and 
one  at  least  is  inspired  with  faith  and  tenderness  equal 
to  her  own.  Naomi  has  her  compensations,  we  see. 
Instead  of  proving  a  trouble  to  her  as  she  feared, 
the  foreign  w^omen  in  her  house  have  become  her 
friends.  She  finds  occupation  and  reward  in  teaching 
them  the  religion  of  Jehovah,  and  thus,  so  far  a^  use- 
fulness of  the  highest  kind  is  concerned,  Naomi  is 
more  blessed  in  Moab  than  she  might  have  been  in 
Bethlehem. 

Far  better  the  service  of  others  in  spiritual  things  than 
a  life  of  mere  personal  ease  and  comfort.  We  count  up 
our  pleasures,  our  possessions  and  gains  and  think  that 
in  these  we  have  the  evidence  of  the  divine  favour. 
Do  we  as  often  reckon  the  opportunities  given  us  of 
helping  our  neighbours  to  believe  in  God,  of  showing 
patience  and  fidelity,  of  having  a  place  among  those 
who  labour  and  wait  for  the  eternal  kingdom  ?  It  is 
here  that  we  ought  to  trace  the  gracious  hand  of  God 
preparing  our  way,  opening  for  us  the  gates  of  life. 
When  shall  we  understand  that  circumstances  which 
remove  us  from  the  experience  of  poverty  and  pain 
remove  us  also  from  precious  means  of  spiritual  service 
and  profit?  To  be  in  close  personal  touch  with  the 
poor,  the  ignorant  and  burdened  is  to  have  simple 
every-day  openings  into  the  region  of  highest  power 
and  gladness.  We  do  something  enduring,  something 
that  engages  and  increases  our  best  powers  when  we 
guide,  enlighten  and  comfort  even  a  few  souls  and  plant 

24 


370  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

but  a  few  flowers  in  some  dull  corner  of  the  world. 
Naomi  did  not  know  how  blest  she  had  been  in  Moab. 
She  said  afterwards  that  she  had  gone  out  full  and  the 
Lord  had  brought  her  home  again  empty.  She  even 
imagined  that  Jehovah  had  testified  against  her  and 
cast  her  from  Him  in  rejection.  Yet  she  had  been 
finding  the  true  power,  winning  the  true  riches.  Did 
she  return  empty  when  the  convert  Ruth,  the  devoted 
Ruth  went  back  with  her  ? 

Her  two  sons  taken  away,  Naomi  felt  no  tie  binding 
her  to  Moab.  Moreover  in  Judah  the  fields  were  green 
again  and  Hfe  was  prosperous.  She  might  hope  to 
dispose  of  her  land  and  realize  something  for  her  old 
age.  It  seemed  therefore  her  interest  and  duty  to 
return  to  her  own  country ;  and  the  next  picture  of  the 
poem  shows  Naomi  and  her  daughters-in-law  travelling 
along  the  northward  highway  towards  the  ford  of 
Jordan,  she  on  her  way  home,  they  accompanying  her. 
The  two  young  widows  are  almost  decided  when  they 
leave  the  desolate  dwelling  in  Moab  to  go  all  the  way 
to  Bethlehem.  Naomi's  account  of  the  life  there,  the 
purer  faith  and  better  customs  attract  them,  and  they 
love  her  well.  But  the  matter  is  not  settled ;  on  the 
bank  of  Jordan  the  final  choice  will  be  made. 

There  are  hours  which  bring  a  heavy  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility to  those  who  advise  and  guide,  and  such  an 
hour  came  now  to  Naomi.  It  was  in  poverty  she  was 
returning  to  the  home  of  her  youth.  She  could  promise 
to  her  daughters-in-law  no  comfortable  easy  life  there, 
for,  as  she  well  knew,  the  enmity  of  Hebrews  against 
Moabites  was  apt  to  be  bitter  and  they  might  be  scorned 
as  aliens  from  Jehovah.  So  far  as  she  was  concerned 
nothing  could  have  been  more  desirable  than  their 
company.     A  woman  in  poverty  and  past  middle  life 


371 


i-  I-I3-]  NAOMI'S  BURDEN. 

could  not  wish  to  separate  herself  from  young  and 
affectionate  companions  who  would  be  a  help  to  her 
in  her  old  age.  To  throw  off  the  thought  of  personal 
comfort  natural  to  one  in  her  circumstances  and  look 
at  things  from  an  unselfish  point  of  view  was  very 
dif^cult.  In  reading  her  story  let  us  remember  how 
apt  we  are  to  colour  advice  half  unconsciously  with  our 
own  wishes,  our  own  seeming  needs. 

Naomi's  advantage  lay  in  securing  the  companionship 
of  Ruth  and  Orpah,  and  religious  considerations  added 
their  weight  to  her  own  desire.  Her  very  regard  and 
care  for  these  young  women  seemed  to  urge  as  the 
highest  service  she  could  do  them  to  draw  them  out  of 
the  paganism  of  Moab  and  settle  them  in  the  country 
of  Jehovah.  So  while  she  herself  would  find  reward 
for  her  patient  efforts  these  two  would  be  rescued  from 
the  darkness,  bound  in  the  bundle  of  life.  Here, 
perhaps,  was  her  strongest  temptation  ;  and  to  some  it 
may  appear  that  it  was  her  duty  to  use  every  argument 
to  this  end,  that  she  was  bound  as  one  who  watched 
for  the  souls  of  Ruth  and  Orpah  to  set  every  fear, 
every  doubt  aside  and  to  persuade  them  that  their 
salvation  depended  on  going  with  her  to  Bethlehem. 
Was  this  not  her  sacred  opportunity,  her  last  opportu- 
nity of  making  sure  that  the  teaching  she  had  given 
them  should  have  its  fruit  ? 

Strange  it  may  seem  that  the  author  of  the  Book  of 
Ruth  is  not  chiefly  concerned  with  this  aspect  of  the 
case,  that  he  does  not  blame  Naomi  for  failing  to  set 
spiritual  considerations  in  the  front.  The  narrative 
indeed  afterwards  makes  it  clear  that  Ruth  chose  the 
good  part  and  prospered  by  choosing  it,  but  here  the 
writer  calmly  states  without  any  question  the  very 
temporal  and  secular  reasons  which  Naomi  pressed  on 


372  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

the  two  widows.  He  seems  to  allow  that  home  and 
country — though  they  were  under  the  shadow  of 
heathenism — home  and  country  and  worldly  prospects 
were  rightly  taken  account  of  even  as  compared  with 
a  place  in  Hebrew  life  and  faith.  But  the  underlying 
fact  is  a  social  pressure  clearly  before  the  Oriental 
mind.  The  customs  of  the  time  were  overmastering, 
and  women  had  no  resource  but  to  submit  to  them. 
Naomi  accepts  the  facts  and  ordinances  of  the  age ; 
the  inspired  author  has  nothing  to  say  against  her. 

"The  Lord  grant  you  that  ye  may  find  rest,  each  of 
you  in  the  house  of  her  husband."  That  the  two  young 
widows  should  return  each  to  her  mother's  house 
and  marry  again  in  Moab  is  Naomi's  urgent  advice  to 
them.  The  times  were  rude  and  wild.  A  woman  could 
be  safe  and  respected  only  under  the  protection  of  a 
husband.  Not  only  was  there  the  old-world  contempt 
for  unmarried  women,  but,  we  may  say,  they  were  an 
impossibility  ;  there  was  no  place  for  them  in  the  social 
life.  People  did  not  see  how  there  could  be  a  home 
without  some  man  at  the  head  of  it,  the  house-band  in 
whom  all  family  arrangements  centred.  It  had  not 
been  strange  that  in  Moab  Hebrew  men  should  marry 
women  of  the  land  ;  but  was  it  likely  Ruth  and  Orpah 
would  find  favour  at  Bethlehem  ?  Their  speech  and 
manners  would  be  despised  and  dislike  once  incurred 
prove  hard  to  overcome.  Besides,  they  had  no  property 
to  commend  them. 

Evidently  the  two  were  very  inexperienced.  They 
had  Httle  thought  of  the  difficulties,  and  Naomi,  there- 
fore, had  to  speak  very  strongly.  In  the  grief  of 
bereavement  and  the  desire  for  a  change  of  scene  they 
had  formed  the  hope  of  going  where  there  were  good 
men  and  women  like  the  Hebrews  they  knew,    and 


i.  1-13.]  NAOMrS  BURDEN,  373 

placing  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  gracious 
God  of  Israel.  Unless  they  did  so  life  seemed  practic- 
ally at  an  end.  But  Naomi  could  not  take  upon  herself 
the  responsibility  of  letting  them  drift  into  a  hazardous 
position,  and  she  forced  a  decision  of  their  own  in  full 
view  of  the  facts.  It  was  true  kindness  no  less  than 
v/isdom.  The  age  had  not  dawned  in  which  women 
could  attempt  to  shape  or  dare  to  defy  the  customs  of 
society,  nor  was  any  advantage  to  be  sought  at  the 
risk  of  moral  compromise.  These  things  Naomi  under- 
stood, though  afterwards,  in  extremity,  she  made  Ruth 
venture  unwisely  to  obtain  a  prize. 

Looking  around  us  now  we  see  multitudes  of  women 
for  whom  there  appears  to  be  no  room,  no  vocation. 
Up  to  a  certain  point,  while  they  were  young,  they  had 
no  thought  of  failure.  Then  came  a  time  when  Provi- 
dence appointed  a  task ;  there  were  parents  to  care  for, 
daily  occupations  in  the  house.  But  calls  for  their 
service  have  ceased  and  they  feel  no  responsibility 
sufficient  to  give  interest  and  strength.  The  world  has 
moved  on  and  the  movement  has  done  much  for  women, 
yet  all  do  not  find  themselves  supplied  with  a  task  and 
a  place.  Around  the  occupied  and  the  distinguished 
circles  perpetually  a  crowd  of  the  helpless,  the  aimless, 
the  disappointed,  to  whom  life  is  a  blank,  offering  no 
path  to  a  ford  of  Jordan  and  a  new  future.  Yet  half 
the  needful  work  is  done  for  these  when  they  are  made 
to  feel  that  among  the  possible  ways  they  must  choose 
one  for  themselves  and  follow  it ;  and  all  is  done  when 
they  are  shown  that  in  the  service  of  God,  which  is  the 
service  also  of  mankind,  a  task  waits  them  fitted  to 
engage  their  highest  powers.  Across  into  the  region 
of  religious  faith  and  energy  they  may  decide  to  pass, 
there  is  room  in  it  for  every  life.      Disappointment  will 


374  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

end  when  selfish  thoughts  are  forgotten  ;  helplessness 
will  cease  when  the  heart  is  resolved  to  help.  Even  to 
the  very  poor  and  ignorant  deliverance  would  come 
with  a  religious  thought  of  life  and  the  first  step  in 
personal  duty. 


II. 

THE  PARTING  OF  THE    WAYS, 
Ruth  i,  14-19. 

WE  journey  along  with  others  for  a  time,  enjoying 
their  fellowship  and  sharing  their  hopes,  yet 
with  thoughts  and  dreams  of  our  own  that  must  sooner 
or  later  send  us  on  a  separate  path.  But  decision  is 
so  difficult  to  many  that  they  are  glad  of  an  excuse 
for  self-surrender  and  are  only  too  willing  to  be  led  by 
some  authority,  deferring  personal  choice  as  long  as 
possible.  Let  an  ecclesiastic  or  a  strong-minded  com- 
panion lay  down  for  them  the  law  of  right  and  wrong 
and  point  the  path  of  duty  and  they  will  obey,  welcoming 
the  relief  from  moral  effort.  Not  seeing  clearly,  not 
disciplined  in  judgment,  they  crave  external  human 
guidance.  The  teachers  of  submission  firid  many 
disciples  not  because  they  speak  truth  but  because 
they  meet  the  indolence  of  the  human  will  with  a 
crutch  instead  of  a  stimulus  ;  they  succeed  by  pam- 
pering weakness  and  making  ignorance  a  virtue.  A 
time  comes,  however,  when  the  method  will  not  serve. 
There  are  moments  when  the  will  must  be  exercised  in 
choosing  between  one  path  and  another,  advance  and 
retreat ;  and  the  alternative  is  too  sharp  to  allow  any 
escape.  If  the  person  is  to  live  at  all  as  a  human 
being  he  has  to  decide  whether  he  will  go  on  in  such 


376  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

a  company  or  turn  back;  he  has  to  declare  what  or 
who  has  the  strongest  hold  upon  his  mind.  Such  an 
occasion  came  to  Ruth  and  Orpah  when  they  reached 
the  border  of  Moab. 

To  Orpah  the  arguments  of  Naomi  were  persuasive. 
Her  mother  lived  in  Moab,  and  to  her  mother's  house 
she  could  return.  There  the  customs  prevailed  which 
from  childhood  she  had  followed.  She  would  have 
liked  to  go  with  Naomi,  but  her  interest  in  the  Hebrew 
woman  and  the  land  and  law  of  Jehovah  did  not  suffice 
to  draw  her  forward.  Orpah  saw  the  future  as  Naomi 
painted  it,  not  indeed  very  attractive  if  she  returned 
to  her  native  place,  but  with  far  more  uncertainty  and 
possible  humiliation  if  she  crossed  the  dividing  river. 
She  kissed  Naomi  and  Ruth  and  took  the  southward 
road  alone,  weeping  as  she  went,  often  turning  for  yet 
another  sight  of  her  friends,  passing  at  every  step  into 
an  existence  that  could  never  be  the  old  X\{^  simply 
taken  up  again,  but  would  be  coloured  in  all  its  ex- 
perience by  what  she  had  learned  from  Naomi  and 
that  parting  which  was  her  own  choice. 

The  others  did  not  greatly  blame  her,  and  we,  for 
our  part,  may  not  reproach  her.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
suppose  that  in  returning  to  her  kinsfolk  and  settling 
down  to  the  tasks  that  offered  in  her  mother's  house 
she  was  guilty  of  despising  truth  and  love  and  re- 
nouncing the  best.  We  may  reasonably  imagine  her 
henceforth  bearing  witness  for  a  higher  morality  and 
affirming  the  goodness  of  the  Hebrew  religion  among 
her  friends  and  acquaintances.  Ruth  goes  where 
affection  and  duty  lead  her  ;  but  for  Orpah  too  it  may 
be  claimed  that  in  love  and  duty  she  goes  back.  She 
is  not  one  who  says,  Moab  has  done  nothing  for  me ; 
Moab  has  no  claim  upon  me;  I  am  free  to  leave  my 


i.  14-19.]  THE  PARTING   OF  THE    WAYS.  377 

country ;  I  am  under  no  debt  to  my  people.  We  shall 
not  take  her  as  a  type  of  selfishness,  worldliness  or 
backsliding,  this  Moabite  woman.  Let  us  rather  believe 
that  she  knew  of  those  at  home  who  needed  the  help 
she  could  give,  and  that  with  the  thought  of  least 
hazard  to  herself  mingled  one  of  the  duty  she  owed 
to  others. 

And  Ruth  : — memorable  for  ever  is  her  decision, 
charming  for  ever  the  words  in  which  it  is  expressed. 
*'  Behold,"  said  Naomi,  "  thy  sister-in-law  is  gone  back 
unto  her  people,  and  unto  her  god  :  return  thou  after 
thy  sister-in-law."  But  Ruth  replied,  ^'  Intreat  me  not 
to  leave  thee,  and  to  return  from  following  after  thee : 
for  whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go ;  and  where  thou 
lodgest,  I  will  lodge :  thy  people  shall  be  my  people, 
and  thy  God  my  God  :  where  thou  diest,  will  I  die, 
and  there  will  I  be  buried :  the  Lord  do  so  to  me, 
and  more  also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me." 
Like  David's  lament  over  Jonathan  these  words  have 
sunk  deep  into  the  human  heart.  As  an  expression 
of  the  tenderest  and  most  faithful  friendship  they  are 
unrivalled.  The  simple  dignity  of  the  iteration  in 
varying  phrase  till  the  climax  is  reached  beyond  which . 
no  promise  could  go,  the  quiet  fervour  of  the  feeling, 
the  thought  which  seems  to  have  almost  a  Christian 
depth — all  are  beautiful,  pathetic,  noble.  From  this 
moment  a  charm  lingers  about  Ruth  and  she  becomes 
dearer  to  us  than  any  woman  of  whom  the  Hebrew 
records  tell. 

Dignified  and  warm  affection  is  the  first  characteristic 
of  Ruth  and  close  beside  it  we  find  the  strength  of 
a  firm  conclusion  as  to  duty.  It  is  good  to  be  capable 
of  clear  resolve,  parting  between  this  and  that  of  oppos- 
ing considerations  and  differing  claims.     Not  to  rush 


378  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

at  decisions  and  act  in  mere  wilfulness,  for  wilfulness 
is  the  extreme  of  weakness,  but  to  judge  soundly  and 
on  this  side  or  that  to  say,  Here  I  see  the  path  for  me 
to  follow:  along  this  and  no  other  I  conclude  to  go. 
Unreason  decides  by  taste,  by  momentary  feeling,  often 
out  of  mere  spite  or  antipathy.  But  the  resolve  of  a 
wise  thoughtful  person,  even  though  it  bring  temporal 
disadvantage,  is  a  moral  gain,  a  step  towards  salvation. 
It  is  the  exercise  of  individuality,  of  the  soul. 

One  may  act  in  error,  as  perhaps  Elimelech  and 
Orpah  acted,  yet  the  life  be  the  stronger  for  the  mis- 
taken decision;  only  there  must  be  no  repentance  for 
having  exercised  the  power  of  judgment  and  of  choice. 
Women  are  particularly  prone  to  go  back  on  themselves 
in  false  repentance.  They  did  what  they  could  not  but 
think  to  be  duty ;  they  carefully  decided  on  a  path  in 
loyalty  to  conscience ;  yet  too  often  they  will  reproach 
themselves  because  what  they  desired  and  hoped  has 
not  come  about.  We  cannot  imagine  Ruth  in  after 
years,  even  though  her  lot  had  remained  that  of  the 
poor  gleaner  and  labourer,  returning  upon  her  decision 
and  weeping  in  secret  as  if  the  event  had  proved  her 
high  choice  a  foolish  one.  Her  mind  was  too  firm 
and  clear  for  that.  Yet  this  is  what  numbers  of  women 
are  doing,  burdening  their  souls,  making  that  a  crime 
in  which  they  should  rather  practise  themselves.  Our 
decisions,  even  when  they  are  made  with  all  the 
wisdom  and  information  we  can  command  in  thorough 
sanity  and  sincerity,  may  be,  often  are  very  faulty; 
and  do  we  expect  that  Providence  will  perpetually 
interfere  to  bring  a  perfect  result  out  of  the  imperfect  ? 
Only  in  the  perfect  order  of  God,  through  the  perfect 
work  of  Christ  and  the  perfect  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  glorious  consummation  of  human  history 


i.i4-i9-]  THE  PARTING   OF  THE    WAYS.  379 

and  divine  purpose  to  come.  As  for  us,  we  are  to 
learn  of  God  in  Christ,  to  judge  and  act  our  best; 
thereafter,  leaving  the  result  to  Providence,  never  go 
back  on  that  of  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Almighty  made 
us  capable  in  the  hour  of  trial. 

*•  Then  welcome  each  rebuff 

That  turns  earth's  smoothness  rough, 
Each  sting  that  bids  nor  sit  nor  stand  but  go ! 

Be  our  joys  three  parts  pain  ! 

Strive,  and  hold  cheap  the  strain ; 
Learn,  nor  account  the  pang  ;  dare,  never  grudge  the  throe ! "  * 

In  religion  there  is  no  escape  from  personal  decision  ; 
no  one  can  drift  to  salvation  with  companions  or  with 
a  church.  In  art,  in  literature,  in  ordinary  morality  it 
is  possible  to  possess  something  without  any  special 
effort.  The  atmosphere  of  cultured  society,  for  instance, 
holds  in  solution  the  knowledge  and  taste  which  have 
been  gained  by  a  few  and  may  pass  in  some  measure 
to  those  who  associate  with  them,  though  personally 
these  have  studied  and  acquired  very  little.  Any  one 
who  observes  how  a  new  book  is  talked  of  will  see  the 
process.  But  the  supreme  nature  of  religion  and  its 
unique  part  in  human  development  are  seen  here,  that 
it  demands  high  and  sustained  personal  effort,  the 
constant  action  of  the  will;  that  indeed  every  spiritual 
gain  must  result  from  the  vital  activity  of  the  individual 
mind  choosing  to  enter  and  enter  yet  farther  the  king- 
dom of  divine  revelation  and  grace.  As  it  is  expressed 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews :  "  We  desire  that  every 
one  of  you  do  show  the  same  diligence  to  the  full 
assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end  :  that  ye  be  not  slothful, 
but  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience 


>  Browning :  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 


38o  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

inherit  the  promises."  The  training  in  resoluteness, 
therefore,  finds  highest  value  and  significance  in  view 
of  the  religious  Hfe.  Those  who  live  by  habit  and 
dependence  in  other  matters  are  not  prepared  for 
the  strenuous  calling  of  faith,  and  many  a  one  is  kept 
from  the  freedom  and  joy  of  Christianity  not  because 
they  are  undesired,  not  because  the  call  of  Christ  is 
unheeded,  but  for  want  of  the  power  of  decision, 
strength  to  go  forward  on  a  personal  quest.  Thousands 
are  in  the  way  of  saying,  Will  you  go  to  an  evangelistic 
meeting  ?  Then  I  will  go.  Will  you  take  the  Sacra- 
ment ?  Then  I  will.  Will  you  teach  in  the  Sunday- 
school?  Then  I  will.  So  far  something  is  gained: 
there  is  a  half-decision.  But  the  spiritual  life  is  sure  at 
some  point  to  demand  more  than  this.  Even  Naomi's 
advice  must  not  deter  Ruth  from  taking  the  way  to 
Bethlehem. 

Like  many  women  Ruth  was  moved  greatly  by  love. 
Was  her  love  justified  ?  Did  it  rightly  govern  her  to 
the  extent  her  words  imply?  "Whither  thou  goest, 
I  will  go :  thy  people  shall  be  my  people ;  where  thou 
diest  I  will  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried."  It  is 
beautiful  to  see  such  love :  but  how  was  it  earned  ? 

Surely  by  years  of  patient  faithful  help ;  not  by  a  few 
cheap  words  and  caresses,  a  few  facile  promises ;  not 
by  beauty  of  face,  gaiety  of  temper.  The  love  that  has 
nothing  but  these  to  found  upon  is  not  enough  for 
a  life-companionship.  But  if  there  is  honour,  clear 
sincerity  of  soul,  generosity  of  nature  ;  if  there  is  brave 
devotion  to  duty,  there  love  can  rest  without  fear, 
reproach  or  hazard.  When  these  cast  their  light  on 
your  way,  love  then,  love  freely  and  strongly ;  you  are 
safe.  It  is  indeed  called  love  where  these  are  not — but 
only  in  ignorance  and  hghtness :  the  heart  has   been 


i.  14-19]  THE  PARTING   OF  THE   WAYS.  381 

caught  by  a  word,  ensnared  by  a  look.  How  pathetic 
are  the  errors  into  which  we  see  our  friends  and 
neighbours  fall,  errors  that  call  for  a  life-long  repentance 
because  reason  and  serious  purpose  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  loving.  vNo  law  of  God  is  written  against 
human  affection,^  nor  has  He  any  jealousy  of  the 
devotion  we  show  to  worthy  fellow-creatures;  but 
there  are  divine  laws  of  love  to  restrain  our  weak  fancy 
and  uplift  our  emotions  ;  and  if  we  disdain  or  cast  aside 
these  laws  we  must  suffer  however  ardent  and  self- 
sacrificing  affection  may  be.  Egotistical  wilfulness  in 
serving  some  one  who  engages  our  admiration  and 
passionate  devotion  is  not  properly  speaking  love. 
It  is  rather  an  offence  against  that  divine  grace  which 
bears  the  noble  name.  Of  course  we  are  not  here 
speaking  of  Christian  charity  towards  our  neighbours, 
interest  in  them  and  care  for  their  well-being,  which  are 
always  our  duty  and  must  not  be  limited.  The  story 
we  are  following  is  one  of  an  intimate  and  personal 
affection. 

Lastly  and  chiefly  the  answer  of  Ruth  implies  a 
religious  change — conversion.  She  renounces  Chemosh 
and  turns  in  faith  and  hope  to  the  God  of  Israel,  and 
this  is  the  striking  feature  of  her  choice.  Dimly  seen, 
the  grace  and  righteousness  of  the  Most  High  touched 
her  soul,  commanded  her  reverence,  drew  her  to  follow 
one  who  was  His  servant  and  could  recount  the  won- 
derful story  of  His  people.  Surely  it  is  a  supreme 
event  in  any  life  when  this  vision  of  the  Best  allures 
the  mind  and  engages  the  will,  even  though  knowledge 
of  God  be  as  yet  very  imperfect.  And  the  reliance  of 
Ruth  upon  the  little  she  felt  and  knew  of  God,  her  clear 
resolution  to  seek  rest  under  His  wings  appear  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  reluctance,  the  unconcern. 


382  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

the  hard  unfaith  of  many  to-day.  How  is  it  that  they 
to  whom  the  Word  speaks  and  the  life  is  revealed, 
whose  portion  is  at  every  moment  enriched  by  that 
Word  and  that  life  are  so  blind  to  the  grace  that 
encompasses  and  deaf  to  the  love  that  entreats  ? 
Again  and  again  we  see  them  on  the  banks  of  some 
Jordan,  with  the  land  of  God  clear  in  view,  with  the 
promise  of  devotion  trembling  on  their  lips;  but  they 
turn  back  to  Moab  and  Chemosh,  to  paganism,  unrest 
and  despair. 

Ruth's  life  properly  began  when  at  Naomi's  side  she 
passed  through  the  waters,  the  very  waters  of  baptism 
to  her.  There,  with  the  purple  mountains  of  Moab 
and  the  precipices  of  the  Dead  Sea  shore  behind,  she 
sent  her  last  look  to  Orpah  and  the  past,  and  saw 
before  her  the  steep  narrow  ascent  through  the  Judaean 
hills.  With  rising  faith,  with  growing  love  she  moved 
to  the  fulfilment  of  womanhood  in  realizing  the  soul's 
highest  power  and  privilege.  The  upward  path  was 
hard  to  weary  feet  and  all  was  not  to  be  easy  for  Ruth 
in  the  Bethlehem  of  which  she  had  dreamed ;  but  fully 
committed  and  pledged  to  the  new  life  she  went  for- 
ward. How  much  is  missed  when  the  choice  to  serve 
God  is  not  unreservedly  made,  and  there  is  not  that 
full  consecration  of  which  Ruth's  decision  may  be  a 
type. 

Of  this  loss  we  see  examples  on  every  side.  To 
remain  in  the  low  ground  by  the  river,  still  within 
reach  of  some  paganism  that  fascinates  even  after  pro- 
fession and  baptism — this  is  the  end  of  religious  feeling 
with  many.  Where  the  narrow  way  of  discipleship 
leads  they  will  not  adventure ;  it  is  too  bare,  confining 
and  severe.  They  will  not  believe  that  freedom  for  the 
human  soul  is  found  by  that  path  alone ;  they  refuse 


i.  14-19.]  THE  PARTING  OF  THE    WA  YS,  383 

to  be  bound  and  therefore  never  discover  the  inheri- 
tance of  God's  children  to  which  they  are  called. 
When  He  v^^ho  alone  can  guide,  quicken,  redeem  is 
accepted  solemnly  and  finally  as  the  Lord  of  life,  then 
at  last  the  weak  and  entangled  spirit  know^s  the  begin- 
ning of  liberty  and  strength.  Sad  is  the  reckoning  in 
our  time  of  those  who  refuse  to  pledge  themselves  to 
the  Saviour  Whose  claim  they  do  feel  to  be  divine  and 
urgent.  Not  yet  may  the  preacher  cease  to  speak  of 
conversion  as  the  necessity  in  every  life.  Rather  be- 
cause it  is  easy  to  be  in  touch  with  Christianity  at 
some  point,  because  gospel  influences  are  widely 
diffused,  and  church  connection  can  be  lightly  held, 
the  personal  pledge  to  Christ  must  be  insisted  upon  in 
the  pulpit  and  kept  in  view  as  the  end  to  which  all  the 
work  of  the  church  is  directed. 

Life  has  many  partings,  and  we  have  all  had  our 

experience  of  some  which  without  fault  on  either  side 
separate  those  well  fitted  to  serve  and  bless  each  other. 
Over  matters  of  faith,  questions  of  political  order  and 
even  social  morality  separations  will  occur.  There 
may  be  no  lack  of  faithfulness  on  either  side  when 
at  a  certain  point  widely  divergent  views  of  duty  are 
taken  by  two  who  have  been  friends.  One  standing 
only  a  little  apart  from  the  other  sees  the  same  light 
reflected  from  a  different  facet  of  the  crystal,  streaming 
out  in  a  different  direction.  As  it  would  be  altogether 
a  mistake  to  say  that  Orpah  took  the  way  of  worldly 
selfishness,  Ruth  only  going  in  the  way  of  duty,  so  it 
is  entirely  a  mistake  to  accuse  those  who  part  with  us 
on  some  question  of  faith  or  conduct  and  think  of  them 
as  finally  estranged.  A  little  more  knowledge  and  we 
would  see  with  them  or  they  with  us.     Some  day  they 


384  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

and  we  shall  reach  the  truth  and  agree  in  our  conclu- 
sions. Separations  there  must  be  for  a  time,  for  as  the 
character  leans  to  love  or  justice,  the  mind  to  reasoning 
or  emotion,  there  is  a  difference  in  the' vision  of  the 
good  for  which  a  man  should  strive.  And  if  it  comes 
to  this  that  the  paths  chosen  by  those  who  were  once 
dear  friends  divide  them  to  the  end  of  earthly  days, 
they  should  retain  the  recollection  not  so  much  of  the 
single  point  that  separated,  as  of  the  many  on  which 
there  was  agreement.  Even  though  they  have  to  fight 
on  opposite  sides  it  should  be  as  those  who  were 
brothers  once  and  shall  be  brothers  again.  Indeed, 
are  they  not  brothers  still,  if  they  fight  for  the  same 
Master  ? 

Yet  one  difference  between  men  reaches  to  the  roots 
of  life.  The  company  of  those  who  keep  the  straight 
way  and  press  on  towards  the  light  have  the  most 
sorrowful  recollection  of  some  partings.  They  have 
had  to  leave  comrades  and  brethren  behind  who 
despised  the  quest  of  holiness  and  immortality  and 
had  nothing  but  mockery  for  the  Friend  and  Saviour 
of  man.  The  shadows  of  estrangement  falling  between 
those  who  are  of  Christ's  company  are  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  dense  cloud  which  divides  them  from 
men  pledged  to  what  is  earthly  and  ignoble;  and  so 
the  reproach  of  sectarian  division  coming  from  irreli- 
gious persons  needs  not  trouble  those  who  have  as 
Christians  an  eternal  brotherhood. 

There  are  divisions  sharp  and  dreadful,  not  always 
at  some  river  which  clearly  separates  land  from  land. 
They  may  be  made  in  the  street  where  parting  seems 
temporary  and  casual.  They  may  be  made  in  the 
very  house  of  God.  While  some  members  of  a  family 
are  responding  with  joy  to  a  divine  appeal,  one  may 


i.  14-19-]  THE  PARTING   OF  THE    WAYS.  385 

be  resolutely  turning  from  it  to  a  base  idolatry.  Of 
three  who  went  together  to  a  place  of  prayer  tw^o 
may  from  that  hour  keep  company  in  the  heavenward 
journey,  while  the  third  moves  every  day  towards  the 
shadow  of  self-chosen  reprobation.  Christ  has  spoken 
of  tremendous  separations  which  men  make  by  their 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  Him.  '*  These  shall  go  away 
into  eternal  punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life 
eternal." 


25 


w 


III. 

IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ. 
Ruth  i.  19-ii.  23. 

EARY  and  footsore  the  two  travellers  reached 
Bethlehem  at  length,  and  "  all  the  city  was 
moved  about  them."  Though  ten  years  had  elapsed, 
many  yet  remembered  as  if  it  had  been  yesterday 
the  season  of  terrible  famine  and  the  departure  of  the 
emigrants.  Now  the  women  lingering  at  the  well, 
when  they  see  the  strangers  approaching,  say  as  they 
look  in  the  face  of  the  elder  one,  "  Is  this  Naomi  ? " 
What  a  change  is  here !  With  husband  and  sons, 
hoping  for  a  new  life  across  in  Moab,  she  went  away. 
Her  return  has  about  it  no  sign  of  success ;  she  comes 
on  foot,  in  the  company  of  one  who  is  evidently  of  an 
alien  race,  and  the  two  have  all  the  marks  of  poverty. 
The  women  who  recognize  the  widow  of  Elimelech  are 
somewhat  pitiful,  perhaps  also  a  little  scornful.  They 
had  not  left  their  native  land  nor  doubted  the  promise 
of  Jehovah.  Through  the  famine  they  had  waited,  and 
now  their  position  contrasts  very  favourably  with  hers. 
Surely  Naomi  is  far  down  in  the  world  since  she  has 
made  a  companion  of  a  woman  of  Moab.  Her  poverty 
is  against  the  wayfarer,  and  to  those  who  know  not  the 
story  of  her  life  that  which  shows  her  goodness  and 
faithfulness  appears  a  cause  of  reproach  and  reason  of 
suspicion. 


i.  19-ii.  23.]  IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ.  387 

Is  it  too  harsh  to  interpret  thus  the  question  with 
which  Naomi  is  met  ?  We  are  only  using  a  key  which 
common  experience  of  life  supplies.  Do  people  give 
sincere  and  hearty  sympathy  to  those  who  went  away 
full  and  return  empty,  who  were  once  in  good  standing 
and  repute  and  come  back  years  after  to  their  old 
haunts  impoverished  and  with  strange  associates? 
Are  we  not  more  ready  to  judge  unfavourably  in  such 
a  case  than  to  exercise  charity  ?  The  trick  of  hasty 
interpretation  is  common  because  every  one  desires  to 
be  on  good  terms  with  himself,  and  nothing  is  so  sooth- 
ing to  vanity  as  the  discovery  of  mistakes  into  which 
others  have  fallen.  "  All  the  brethren  of  the  poor  do 
hate  him/'  says  one  who  knew  the  Hebrews  and  human 
nature  well ;  "  how  much  more  do  his  friends  go  far 
from  bim.  He  pursueth  them  with  words,  yet  they  are 
wanting  to  him."  Naomi  finds  it  so  when  she  throws 
herself  on  the  compassion  of  her  old  neighbours.  They 
are  not  uninterested,  they  are  not  altogether  unkind, 
but  they  feel  their  superiority. 

And  Naomi  appears  to  accept  the  judgment  they 
have  formed.  Very  touching  is  the  lament  in  which 
she  takes  her  position  as  one  whom  God  has  rebuked, 
whom,  it  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  old  friends 
despise.  She  almost  makes  excuse  for  those  who  look 
down  upon  her  from  the  high  ground  of  their  imaginary 
virtue  and  wisdom.  Indeed  she  has  the  same  belief  as 
they  that  poverty,  the  loss  of  land,  bereavement  and 
every  kind  of  affliction  are  marks  of  God's  displeasure. 
For,  what  does  she  say  ?  "  Call  me  not  Naomi, 
Pleasant,  call  me  Mara,  Bitter,  for  the  Almighty  hath 
dealt  very  bitterly  with  me.  .  .  .  The  Lord  hath  testi- 
fied against  me  and  the  Almighty  hath  afflicted  me." 
Such  was  the  Hebrew  thought,  the  purpose  of  God  in 


388  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

His  dealings  with  men  not  being  apprehended.     Under 
the  shadow  of  loss  and  sorrow  it  seemed  that  no  heat 
of   the   Divine    Presence   could   be   felt.     To    have   a 
husband  and  children  appeared  to  Naomi  evidence  of 
God's   favour ;  to  lose  them  was  a  proof  that  He  had 
turned  against  her.     Heavy  as  her  losses  had  been  the 
terrible  thing  was  that  they  implied  thedispleasureof  God. 
It  is  perhaps  difficult  for  us  to  realize  even  by  an 
imaginative  effort  this  condition  of  soul — the  sense  of 
banishment,    darkness,    outlawry   which    came    to    the 
Hebrew  whenever  he  fell  into  distress  or  penury.     And 
yet  we  ourselves  retain  the  same  standard  of  judgment 
in  our  common  estimate  of  life ;  we  still  interpret  things 
by  an   ignorant   unbelief  which   causes   many  worthy 
souls  to  bow  in  a  humiliation  Christians  should  never 
feel.     Do  not  the  loneliness,  the  poverty,  the  testimony 
of  Christ  teach  us  something  altogether  different  ?    Can 
we  still  cherish  the  notion  that  prosperity  is  an  evidence 
of  worth  and   that  the  man  who  can  found  a  family 
must  be  a  favourite  of  the  heavenly  powers  ?     Judge 
thus  and  the  providence  of  God  is  a  tangle,  a  perplex- 
ing  darkening    problem    which,    believe  as    you   may, 
must    still    overwhelm.       Wealth    has    its    conditions ; 
money  comes  through  some  one's  cleverness  in  work 
and   trading,   some  one's  inventiveness  or  thrift,  and 
these  qualities  are  reputable.     But  nothing  is  proved 
regarding  the  spiritual  tone  and  nature  of  a  life  either 
by  w^ealth  or  by  the  want  of  it.     And  surely  we  have 
learned  that  loss  of  friends  and  loneliness  are  not  to 
be  reckoned  the  punishment  of  sin.     Often  enough  we 
hear  the  warning  that  wealth  and  worldly  position  are 
not  to  be  sought  for  themselves,  and  yet,  side  by  side 
with  this  warning,  the  implication   that  a  high  place 
and  a  prosperous  hfe  are   proofs  of   divine   blessing. 


i.i9-ii.23.]  IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ.  389 


On  the  whole  subject  Christian  thought  is  far  from 
clear,  and  we  have  need  to  go  anew  to  the  Master  and 
inquire  of  Him  Who  had  no  place  where  to  lay  His 
head.  The  Hebrew  belief  in  the  prosperity  of  God's 
servants  must  fulfil  itself  in  a  larger  better  faith  or  the 
man  of  to-morrow  will  have  no  faith  at  all.  One  who 
bewails  the  loss  of  wealth  or  friends  is  doing  nothing 
that  has  spiritual  meaning  or  value.  When  he  takes 
himself  to  task  for  that  despondency  he  begins  to  touch 
the  spiritual. 

/  In  Bethlehem  Naomi  found  the  half-ruined  cottage 
/still  belonging  to  her,  and  there  she  and  Ruth  took  up 
their  abode.  But  for  a  living  what  was  to  be  done  ? 
The  answer  came  in  the  proposal  of  Ruth  to  go  into 
the  fields  where  the  barley  harvest  was  proceeding  and 
glean  after  the  reapers.  By  great  diligence  she  might 
gather  enough  day  by  day  for  the  bare  sustenance  that 
contents  a  Syrian  peasant,  and  afterwards  some  other 
means  of  providing  for  herself  and  Naomi  might  be 
found.  The  work  was  not  dignified.  She  would  have  to 
appear  among  the  waifs  and  wanderers  of  the  country, 
with  women  whose  behaviour  exposed  them  to  the 
rude  gibes  of  the  labourers.  But  whatever  plan  Naomi 
vaguely  entertained  was  hanging  in  abeyance,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  women  were  urgent.  No  kinsman 
came  forward  to  help  them.  Loath  as  she  was  to 
expose  Ruth  to  the  trials  of  the  harvest-field,  Naomi 
had  to  let  her  go.  So  it  was  Ruth  who  made  the  first 
move,  Ruth  the  stranger  who  brought  succour  to  the 
Hebrew  widow  when  her  own  people  held  aloof  and 
she  herself  knew  not  how  to  act. 

Now  among  the  farmers  whose  barley  was  falling 
before  the  sickle  was  the  land-owner  Boaz,  a  kinsman 
of  Elimelech,  a  m&n  of  substance  and  social  importance, 


390  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH, 

one  of  those  who  in  the  midst  of  their  fruitful  fields 
shine  with  bountiful  good- humour  and  by  their  presence 
make  their  servants  work  heartily.  To  Ruth  in  after 
days  it  must  have  seemed  a  wonderful  thing  that  her 
first  timid  expedition  led  her  to  a  portion  of  ground 
belonging  to  this  man.  From  the  moment  he  appears 
in  the  narrative  we  note  in  him  a  certain  largeness  of 
character.  It  may  be  only  the  easy  kindness  of  the 
prosperous  man,  but  it  commends  him  to  our  good 
opinion.  Those  who  have  a  smooth  way  through  the 
world  are  bound  to  be  especially  kind  and  considerate 
in  their  bearing  toward  neighbours  and  dependants, 
this  at  least  they  owe  as  an  acknowledgment  to  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  we  are  always  pleased  to  find  a  rich 
man  paying  his  debt  so  far.  There  is  a  certain  piety 
also  in  the  greeting  of  Boaz  to  his  labourers,  a  cus- 
tomary thing  no  doubt  and  good  even  in  that  sense, 
but  better  when  it  carries,  as  it  seems  to  do  here,  a 
personal  and  friendly  message.  Here  is  a  man  who  will 
observe  with  strict  eye  everything  that  goes  on  in  the 
field  and  will  be  quick  to  challenge  any  lazy  reaper. 
But  he  is  not  remote  from  those  who  serve  him,  he  and 
they  meet  on  common  ground  of  humanity  and  faith. 

The  great  operations  which  some  in  these  days  think 
fit  to  carry  on,  more  for  their  own  glory  certainly  than 
the  good  of  their  country  or  countrymen,  entirely  pre- 
clude anything  like  friendship  between  the  chief  and 
the  multitude  of  his  subordinates.  It  is  impossible 
that  a  man  who  has  a  thousand  under  him  should  know 
and  consider  each,  and  there  would  be  too  much  pre- 
tence in  saying,  "  God  be  with  you,"  on  entering  a  yard 
or  factory  when  otherwise  no  feeling  is  shown  with 
which  the  name  of  God  can  be  connected.  Apart 
altogether  from  questions   as   to  wealth   and   its   use 


1.  i9-ii.23.]  IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ.  391 

every  employer  has  a  responsibility  for  maintaining 
the  healthy  human  activity  of  his  people,  and  nowhere 
is  the  immorality  of  the  present  system  of  huge  con- 
cerns so  evident  as  in  the  extinction  of  personal  good 
will.  The  workman  of  course  may  adjust  himself  to 
the  state  of  matters,  but  it  will  too  often  be  by  dis- 
crediting what  he  knows  he  cannot  have  and  keeping 
up  a  critical  resentful  habit  of  mind  against  those  who 
seem  to  treat  him  as  a  machine.  He  may  often  be 
wrong  in  his  judgment  of  an  employer.  There  may  be 
less  hardness  of  temper  on  the  other  side  than  there  is 
on  his  own.  But,  the  conditions  being  what  they  are, 
one  may  say  he  is  certain  to  be  a  severe  critic.  We 
have  unquestionably  lost  much  and  are  in  danger  of 
losing  more,  not  in  a  financial  sense,  which  matters 
little,  but  in  the  infinitely  more  important  affairs  of 
social  sweetness  and  Christian  civilization. 

Boaz  the  farmer  had  not  more  in  hand  than  he  could 
attend  to  honestly,  and  everything  under  his  care  was 
well  ordered.  He  had  a  foreman  over  the  reapers,  and 
from  him  he  required  an  account  of  the  stranger  whom 
he  saw  gleaning  in  the  field.  There  were  to  be  no 
hangers-on  of  loose  character  where  he  exercised 
authority  ;  and  in  this  we  justify  him.  We  like  to  see 
a  man  keeping  a  firm  hand  when  we  are  sure  that  he 
has  a  good  heart  and  knows  what  he  is  doing.  Such  a 
one  is  bound  within  the  range  of  his  power  to  have  all 
done  rightly  and  honourably,  and  Boaz  pleases  us  all 
the  better  that  he  makes  close  inquiry  regarding  the 
woman  who  seeks  the  poor  gains  of  a  common  gleaner. 
/  Of  course  in  a  place  like  Bethlehem  people  knew 
^each  other,  and  Boaz  was  probably  acquainted  with 
most  whom  he  saw  about ;  at  once,  therefore,  the  new 
figure    of  the  Moabite  woman  attracted   his  attention. 


392 


THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 


Who  is  she  ?  A  kindly  heart  prompts  the  inquiry  for 
the  farmer  knows  that  if  he  interests  himself  in  this 
young  woman  he  may  be  burdened  with  a  new  depen- 
dant. '^  It  is  the  Moabitish  damsel  that  came  back 
with  Naomi  out  of  the  country  of  Moab."  She  is  the 
daughter-in-law  of  his  old  friend  Elimelech.  Before 
the  eyes  of  Boaz  one  of  the  romances  of  life,  common 
and  tragic  too,  is  unfolding  itself.  Often  had  Boaz 
and  Elimelech  held  counsel  with  each  other,  met  at 
each  other's  houses,  talked  together  of  their  fields  or 
of  the  state  of  the  country.  But  Elimelech  went  away 
and  lost  all  and  died  ;  and  two  widows,  the  wreck  of 
the  family,  had  returned  to  Bethlehem.  It  was  plain 
that  these  would  be  new  claimants  on  his  favour,  but 
unlike  many  well-to-do  persons  Boaz  does  not  wait 
for  some  urgent  appeal ;  he  acts  rather  as  one  who  is 
glad  to  do  a  kindness  for  old  friendship's  sake. 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  lonely  gleaner  when 
the  rich  man  came  to  her  side  and  gave  her  a  word  of 
comfortable  greeting.  '^  Hearest  thou  not,  my  daughter  ? 
Go  not  to  glean  in  another  field,  but  abide  here  fast  by 
my  maidens."  Nothing  had  been  done  to  make  Ruth 
feel  at  home  in  Bethlehem  until  Boaz  addressed  her. 
She  had  perhaps  seen  proud  and  scornful  looks  in  the 
street  and  at  the  well,  and  had  to  bear  them  meekly, 
silently.  In  the  fields  she  may  have  looked  for  some- 
thing of  the  kind  and  even  feared  that  Boaz  would  dis- 
miss her.  A  gentle  person  in  such  circumstances  is 
exceedingly  grateful  for  a  very  small  kindness,  and  it 
was  not  a  slight  favour  that  Boaz  did  her.  But  in 
making  her  acknowledgments  Ruth  did  not  know  what 
had  prepared  her  way.  The  truth  was  that  she  had 
met  with  a  man  of  character  who  valued  character,  and 
her  faithfulness  commended  her.     "  It  hath  been  fully 


i.  19-ii.  23.]  IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ,  393 

showed  me,  all  that  thou  hast  done  unto  thy  mother-in- 
law  since  the  death  of  thine  husband."  The  best  point 
in  Boaz  is  that  he  so  quickly  and  fully  recognises  the 
goodness  of  another  and  will  help  her  because  they 
stand  upon  a  common  ground  of  conscience  and  duty. 

Is  it  on  such  a  ground  you  draw  to  others  ?  Is  your 
interest  won  by  kindly  dispositions  and  fidelity  of 
temper?  Do  you  love  those  who  are  sincere  and 
patient  in  their  duties,  content  to  serve  where  service 
is  appointed  by  God  ?  Are  you  attracted  by  one  who 
cherishes  a  parent,  say  a  poor  mother,  in  the  time  of 
feebleness  and  old  age,  doing  all  that  is  possible  to 
smooth  her  path  and  provide  for  her  comfort  ?  Or 
have  you  little  esteem  for  such  a  one,  for  the  duties  so 
faithfully  discharged,  because  you  see  no  brilliance  or 
beauty,  and  there  are  other  persons  more  clever  and 
successful  on  their  own  account,  more  amusing  because 
they  are  unburdened  ?  If  so,  be  sure  of  your  own 
ignorance,  your  own  undutifulness,  your  own  want  of 
principle  and  heart.  ^  Character  is  known  by  character, 
and  worth  by  worth.3  Those  who  are  acquainted  with 
you  could  probably  say  that  you  care  more  for  display 
than  for  honour,  that  you  think  more  of  making  a  fine 
figure  in  society  than  of  showing  generosity,  forbearance 
and  integrity  at  home.  The  good  appreciate  goodness, 
the  true  honour  truth.  •  One  important  lesson  of  the 
Book  of  Ruth  lies  here,  that  the  great  thing  for  young 
women,  and  for  young  men  also,  is  to  be  quietly 
faithful  in  the  service,  however  humble,  to  which  God 
has  called  them  and  the  family  circle  in  which  He  has 
set  them.  Not  indeed  because  that  is  the  fine  ot 
promotion,  though  Ruth  found  it  so;  Ivery  Ruth  does 
not  obtain  favour  in  the  eyes  of  a  wealthy  Boaz)  So 
honourable  and  good  a  man  is  not  to  be  met  on  every 


394  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

harvest  field ;  on  the  contrary  she  may  encounter  a 
Nabal,  one  who  is  churlish  and  evil  in  his  doings. 

We  must  take  the  course  of  this  narrative  as 
symbolic.  The  book  has  in  it  the  strain  of  a  religious 
idyl.  The  Moabite  who  wins  the  regard  of  this  man  of 
Judah  represents  those  who,  though  naturally  strangers 
to  the  covenant  of  promise,  receive  the  grace  of  God 
and  enter  the  circle  of  divine  blessing — even  coming  to 
high  dignity  in  the  generations  of  the  chosen  people. 
It  is  idyllic,  we  say,  not  an  exhibition  of  every-day  fact  ; 
yet  the  course  of  divine  justice  is  surely  more  beautiful, 
more  certain.  To  every  Ruth  comes  the  Heavenly 
Friend  Whose  are  all  the  pastures  and  fields,  all  the 
good  things  of  Hfe.  The  Christian  hope  is  in  One  Who 
cannot  fail  to  mark  the  most  private  faithfulness,  piety 
and  love  hidden  like  violets  among  the  grass.  If  there 
is  not  such  a  One,  the  Helper  and  Vindicator  of  meek 
fidelity,  virtue  has  no  sanction  and  well-doing  no 
recompense. 

The  true  Israelite  Boaz  accepts  the  daughter  of  an 
alien  and  unfriendly  people  on  account  of  her  own 
character  and  piety.  "  The  Lord  recompense  thy  work, 
and  a  full  reward  be  given  thee  of  the  Lord,  the  God 
of  Israel,  under  Whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  take 
refuge."  Such  is  the  benediction  which  Boaz  invokes 
on  Ruth,  receiving  her  cordially  into  the  family  circle 
of  Jehovah.  Already  she  has  ceased  to  be  a  stranger 
and  a  foreigner  to  him.  The  boundary  walls  of  race 
are  overstepped,  partly,  no  doubt,  by  that  sense  of  kin- 
ship which  the  Bethlehemite  is  quick  to  acknowledge. 
For  Naomi's  sake  and  for  Elimelech's  as  well  as  her 
own  he  craves  divine  protection  and  reward  for  the 
daughter  of  Moab.  Yet  the  beautiful  phrase  he  employs, 
full  of  Hebrew  confidence  in  God,  is  an  acknowledg- 


1.  i9-ii.  23.]  IN  THE  FIELD   OF  BOAZ.  395 

ment  of  Ruth's  act  of  faith  and  her  personal  right  to  7^ 
share  with  the  children  of  Abraham  the  fostering  love  / 
of  the  Almighty.  The  story,  then,  is  a  plea  against 
that  exclusiveness  which  the  Hebrews  too  often  in- 
dulged. On  this  page  of  the  annals  the  truth  is  written 
out  that  though  Jehovah  cared  for  Israel  much  He 
cares  still  more  for  love  and  faithfulness,  purity  and 
goodness.  We  reach  at  last  an  instance  of  that  fulfil- 
ment of  Israel's  mission  to  the  nations  around  which 
in  our  study  of  the  Book  of  Judges  we  looked  for  in 
vain. 

Not  for  Israel  only  in  the  time  of  its  narrowness 
was  the  lesson  given.  We  need  it  still.  The  justifi- 
cation and  redemption  of  God  are  not  restricted  to 
those  who  have  certain  traditions  and  beliefs.  Even 
as  a  Moabite  woman  brought  up  in  the  worship  of 
Chemosh,  with  many  heathen  ideas  still  in  her  mind, 
has  her  place  under  the  wings  of  Jehovah  as  a  soul 
seeking  righteousness,  so  from  countries  and  regions  of 
Hfe  which  Christian  people  may  consider  a  kind  of  rude 
heathen  Moab  many  in  humility  and  sincerity  may 
be  coming  nigh  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  was  so  in 
our  Lord's  time,  and  it  is  so  still.  All  along  the  true 
religion  of  God  has  been  for  reconciliation  and  brother- 
hood among  men,  and  it  was  possible  for  many  Israelites 
to  do  what  Naomi  did  in  the  way  of  making  effectual'the 
promise  of  God  to  Abraham  that  in  his  seed  all  families 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  There  never  was  a 
middle  wall  of  partition  between  men  except  in  the 
thought  of  the  Hebrew.  He  was  separated  that  he 
might  be  able  to  convert  and  bless,  not  that  he  might 
stand  aloof  in  pride.  The  wall  which  he  built  Christ 
has  broken  down  that  the  servants  of  His  gospel  may 
go  freely  forth  to  find  everywhere  brethren  in  common 


396  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

humanity  and  need,  who  are  to  be  made  brethren  in 
Christ.  The  outward  representation  of  brotherhood  in 
faith  must  follow  the  work  of  the  reconciling  Spirit — 
cannot  precede  it.  And  when  the  reconciliation  is  felt 
in  the  depth  of  human  souls  we  shall  have  the  all- 
comprehensive  church,  a  fair  and  gracious  dwelling- 
place,  wide  as  the  race,  rich  with  every  noble  thought 
and  hope  of  man  and  every  gift  of  Heaven. 


IV. 

THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN. 
Ruth  iii. 

HOPE  came  to  Naomi  when  Ruth  returned  with 
the  ephah  of  barley  and  her  story  of  the  rich 
man's  hearty  greeting.  God  was  remembering  His 
handmaiden  ;  He  had  not  shut  up  His  tender  mercies. 
Through  His  favour  Boaz  had  been  moved  to  kindness, 
and  the  house  of  Elimelech  would  yet  be  raised  from 
the  dust.  The  woman's  heart,  clinging  to  its  last  hope, 
was  encouraged.  Naomi  was  loud  in  her  praises  of 
Jehovah  and  of  the  man  who  had  with  such  pious 
readiness  befriended  Ruth.  And  the  young  woman 
had  due  encouragement.  She  heard  no  fault-finding,  no 
complaint  that  she  had  made  too  little  of  her  chance. 
The  young  sometimes  find  it  difficult  to  serve  the  old, 
and  those  who  have  come  down  in  the  world  are  very 
apt  to  be  discontented  and  querulous ;  what  is  done  for 
them  is  never  rightly  done,  never  enough.  It  was  not 
so  here.  The  elder  woman  seems  to  have  had  nothing 
but  gratitude  for  the  gentle  effort  of  the  other.  And  so 
the  weeks  of  barley-harvest  and  of  wheat-harvest  went 
by,  Ruth  busy  in  the  fields  of  Boaz,  gleaning  behind 
his  maidens,  helped  by  their  kindness — for  they  knew 
better  than  to  thwart  their  master — and  cheered  at 
home  by  the  pleasure  of  her  mother-in-law.  An  idyl  ? 
Yes :  one  that  might  be  enacted,  with  varying  circum- 


398  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

Stances,  in  a  thousand  homes  where  at  present  distrust 
and  impatience  keep  souls  from  the  peace  God  would 
give  them. 

But;  one  may  ask,  why  did  Boaz,  so  well  inclined  to 
be  generous,  knowing  these  women  to  be  deserving 
of  help,  leave  them  week  after  week  without  further 
notice  and  aid  ?  Could  he  reckon  his  duty  done  when 
he  allowed  Ruth  to  glean  in  his  fields,  gave  her  a  share 
of  the  refreshment  provided  for  the  reapers,  and  ordered 
them  to  pull  some  ears  from  the  bundles  that  she  might 
the  more  easily  fill  her  arms  ?  For  friendship's  sake 
even,  should  he  not  have  done  more? 

We  keep  in  mind,  for  one  thing,  that  Boaz,  though 
a  kinsman,  was  not  the  nearest  relation  Naomi  had  in 
Bethlehem.  Another  was  of  closer  kin  to  Elimelech, 
and  it  was  his  duty  to  take  up  the  widow's  case  in 
accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  time.  The  old  law 
that  no  Hebrew  family  should  be  allowed  to  lapse  had 
deep  root  and  justification.  How  could  Israel  maintain 
itself  in  the  land  of  promise  and  become  the  testifying 
people  of  God  if  families  were  suffered  to  die  out  and 
homesteads  to  be  lost  ?  One  war  after  another  drained 
away  many  active  men  of  the  tribes.  Upon  those  who 
survived  lay  the  serious  duty  of  protecting  widows, 
upholding  claims  to  farm  and  dwelling  and  raising  up 
to  those  who  had  died  a  name  in  Israel.  The  stress 
of  the  time  gave  sanction  to  the  law ;  without  it  Israel 
would  have  decayed,  losing  ground  and  power  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy.  Now  this  custom  bound  the  nearest 
kinsman  of  Naomi  to  befriend  her  and,  at  least,  to 
establish  her  claim  to  a  certain  "  parcel  of  land  "  near 
Bethlehem.  As  for  Boaz,  he  had  to  stand  aside  and 
give  the  goel  his  opportunity. 

And  another  reason  is  easily  seen  for  his  not  hastening 


iii.]  THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN.  399 

to  supply  the  two  widows  with  every  comfort  and 
remove  from  their  hearts  every  fear,  a  reason  which 
touches  the  great  difficulty  of  the  philanthropic, — how  \ 
to  do  good  and  yet  do  no  harm.  To  give  is  easy ;  but 
to  help  without  tarnishing  the  fine  independence  and 
noble  thrift  of  poorer  persons  is  not  easy.  \  It  is,  in 
truth,  a  very  serious  matter  to  use  wealth  wisely,  for 
against  the  absolute  duty  of  help  hangs  the  serious 
mischief  that  may  result  from  lavish  or  careless  charity. 
Boaz  appears  a  true  friend  and  wise  benefactor  in 
leaving  Ruth  to  enjoy  the  sweetness  of  securing  the 
daily  portion  of  corn  by  her  own  exertion.  He  might 
have  relieved  her  from  toiling  like  one  of  the  poorest 
and  least  cared  for  of  women.  He  might  have  sent  her 
home  the  first  day  and  one  of  his  young  men  after  her 
with  store  of  corn  and  oil.  But  if  he  had  done  so  he 
would  have  made  the  great  mistake  so  often  made 
now-a-days  by  the  bountiful.  An  industrious  patient 
generous  life  would  have  been  spoiled.  To  protect 
Ruth  from  any  kind  or  degree  of  insolence,  to  show 
her,  for  his  own  part,  the  most  delicate  respect — this 
Boaz  could  well  do.  In  what  he  refrained  from  doing 
he  is  an  example,  and  in  the  kind  and  measure  of 
attention  he  paid  to  Ruth.  Corresponding  acts  of 
Christian  courtesy  and  justice  due  from  the  rich  and 
influential  of  our  time  to  persons  in  straitened  circum- 
stances are  far  too  often  unrendered.  A  thousand 
opportunities  of  paying  this  real  debt  of  man  to  man 
are  allowed  to  pass.  Those  concerned  do  not  see  any 
obligation,  and  the  reason  is  that  they  want  the  proper 
state  of  mind.  That  is  indispensable.  Where  it 
exists  true  neighbourliness  will  follow  ;  the  best  help 
will  be  given  naturally  with  perfect  taste,  in  proper 
degree  and  without  self-sufficiency  or  pride. 


400  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

A  great  hazard  goes  with  much  of  the  spiritual  work 
of  our  time.  The  Ruth  gleaning  for  herself  in  the  field 
of  Christian  thought,  finding  here  and  there  an  ear  of 
heavenly  corn  which,  as  she  has  gathered  it,  gives  true 
nourishment  to  the  soul — is  met  not  by  one  but  by 
many  eager  to  save  her  all  the  trouble  of  searching  the 
Scriptures  and  thinking  out  the  problems  of  life  and 
faith.  Is  it  wrong  to  deprive  a  brave  self-helper  of 
the  need  to  toil  for  daily  bread  ?  How  much  greater 
is  the  wrong  done  to  minds  capable  of  spiritual  endea- 
vour when  they  are  taught  to  renounce  personal  effort 
and  are  loaded  with  sheaves  of  corn  which  they  have 
neither  sowed  nor  reaped.  The  fashion  of  our  time  is 
to  save  people  trouble  in  religion,  to  remove  all  resist- 
ance from  the  way  of  mind  and  soul,  and  as  a  result 
the  spiritual  life  never  attains  strength  or  even  con- 
sciousness. Better  the  scanty  meal  won  by  personal 
search  in  the  great  harvest  field  than  the  surfeit  of 
dainties  on  which  some  are  fed,  spiritual  paupers  though 
they  know  it  not.  The  wisdom  of  the  Divine  Book  is 
marvellously  shown  in  that  it  gives  largely  without 
destroying  the  need  for  effort,  that  it  requires  examina- 
tion and  research,  comparison  of  scripture  with  scripture, 
earnest  thought  in  many  a  field.  Bible  study,  therefore, 
makes  strong  Christians,  strong  faith. 

As  time  went  by  and  harvest  drew  to  a  close,  Naomi 
grew  impatient.  Anxious  about  Ruth's  future  she 
wished  to  see  something  done  towards  establishing  her 
in  safety  and  honour.  ''  My  daughter-in-law,"  we  hear 
her  say,  "  shall  I  not  seek  rest — a  menuchah  or  asylum 
for  thee,  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee  ?  "  No  goel  or 
redeemer  has  appeared  to  befriend  Naomi  and  reistnate 
her,  or  Ruth  as  representing  her  dead  son,  in  the  rights 
of  EHmelech.     If  those  rights  are  not  to  lapse,  some- 


iii.]  THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN.  ^ol 

thing  must  be  done  speedily  ;  and  Naomi's  plot  is  a 
bold  one.  She  sets  Ruth  to  claim  Boaz  as  the  kins- 
man whose  duty  it  is  to  marry  her  and  become  her 
protector.  Ruth  is  to  go  to  the  threshing-floor  on  the 
night  of  the  harvest  festival,  wait  until  Boaz  lies  down 
to  sleep  beside  the  mass  of  winnowed  grain,  and  place 
herself  at  his  feet,  so  reminding  him  that  if  no  other 
will  it  is  his  part  to  be  a  husband  to  her  for  the  sake 
of  Elimelech  and  his  sons.  The  plan  is  daring  and 
appears  to  us  indelicate  at  least.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  w^hether  any  custom  of  the  tin-e  sanctioned  it ;  but 
even  in  that  case  we  cannot  acquit  Naomi  of  resorting 
to  a  stratagem  with  the  view  of  bringing  about  what 
seemed  most  desirable  for  Ruth  and  herself. 

Now  let  us  remember  the  position  of  the  two  widows, 
lonely,  with  no  prospect  before  them  but  hard  toil  that 
would  by-and-by  fail,  unable  to  undertake  anything  on 
their  own  account,  and  still  regarded  with  indifference 
if  not  suspicion  by  the  people  of  Bethlehem.  There  is 
no  asylum  for  Ruth  except  in  the  house  of  a  husband. 
If  Naomi  dies  she  will  be  worse  than  destitute,  morally 
under  a  cloud.  To  live  by  herself  will  be  to  lead  a 
life  of  constant  peril.  It  is,  we  may  say,  a  desperate 
resource  on  v^hich  Naomi  falls.  (Boaz  is  probably 
already  married,^ has  perhaps  more  wives  than  one. 
True,  he  has  room  in  his  house  for  Ruth ;  he  can 
easily  provide  for  her ;  and  though  the  customs  of  the 
age  are  strained  somewhat  we  must  partly  admit 
excuse.  Still  the  venture  is  almost  entirely  suggested 
and  urged  by  worldly  considerations,  and  for  the  sake 
of  them  great  risk  is  run.  Instead  of  gaining  a  husband 
Ruth  may  completely  forfeit  respect.  Boaz,  so  far 
from  entertaining  her  appeal  to  his  kinship  and  genero- 
sity, may  drive  her  from  the  threshing-floor.     It  is  one 

26 


402  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

of  those  cases  in  which,  notwithstanding  some  possible 
defence  in  custom,  poverty  and  anxiety  lead  into 
dubious  ways. 

We  ask  why  Naomi  did  not  first  approach  the  proper 
goel,  the  kinsman  nearer  than  Boaz,  on  whom  she  had 
an  undeniable  claim.  And  the  answer  occurs  that 
he  did  not  seem  in  respect  of  disposition  or  means  so 
good  a  match  as  Boaz.  Or  why  did  she  not  go  directly 
to  Boaz  and  state  her  desire?  She  was  apparently 
not  averse  from  grasping  at  the  result,  compromising 
him,  or  running  the  risk  of  doing  so  in  order  to  gain 
her  end.  We  cannot  pass  the  point  without  observing 
that,  despite  the  happy  issue  of  this  plot,  it  is  a  warning 
not  an  example.  These  secret,  underhand  schemes  are 
not  to  our  liking  ;  they  should  in  no  circumstances  be 
resorted  to.  It  was  well  for  Ruth  that  she  had  a  man 
to  deal  with  who  was  generous,  not  irascible,  a  man 
of  character  who  had  fully  appreciated  her  goodness. 
The  scheme  would  otherwise  have  had  a  pitiful  result. 
The  story  is  one  creditable  in  many  respects  to  human 
nature,  and  the  Moabite  acting  under  Naomi's  direction 
appears  almost  blameless ;  yet  the  sense  of  having 
lowered  herself  must  have  cast  its  shadow.  A  risk 
was  run  too  great  by  far  for  modesty  and  honour. 

To  compromise  ourselves  by  doing  that  which  savours 
of  presumption,  which  goes  too  far  even  by  a  hair's- 
breadth  in  urging  a  claim  is  a  bad  thing.  Better 
remain  without  what  we  reckon  our  rights  than  lower 
our  moral  dignity  in  pressing  them.  Independence  of 
character,  perfect  honour  and  uprightness  are  too  pre- 
cious by  far  to  be  imperilled  even  in  a  time  of  serious 
difficulty.  To-day  we  can  hardly  turn  in  any  direction 
without  seeing  instances  of  risky  compromise  often 
ending  in   disaster.      To  obtain   preferment   one  will 


iii.]  THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN.  403 

offer  some  mean  bribe  of  flattery  to  the  person  who 
can  give  it.  To  gain  a  fortune  men  will  condescend  to 
pitiful  self-humiliation.  In  the  Hterary  world  the  upward 
ways  open  easily  to  talent  that  does  not  refuse  com- 
promises; a  writer  may  have  success  at  the  price  of 
astute  silence  or  careful  caressing  of  prejudice.  The 
candidate  for  office  commits  himself  and  has  afterwards 
to  wriggle  as  best  he  can  out  of  the  straits  in  which  he 
is  involved.  And  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  light 
judgment  of  drunkenness  and  impurity  by  men  and 
women  of  all  ranks  who  associate  with  those  known  to 
be  guilty  and  make  no  protest  against  their  wrong- 
doing ? 

It  would  be  shirking  one  of  the  plain  appHcations  of 
the  incidents  before  us  if  we  passed  over  the  com- 
promises so  many  women  make  with  self-respect  and 
purity.  Ruth,  under  the  advice  of  one  whom  she 
knew  to  be  a  good  woman,  risked  something  :  with  us 
now  are  many  who  against  the  entreaty  of  all  true 
friends  adventure  into  dangerous  ways,  put  themselves 
into  the  power  of  men  they  have  no  reason  to  trust. 
And  women  in  high  place,  who  should  set  an  example 
of  fidelity  to  the  divine  order  and  understand  the 
honour  of  womanhood,  are  rather  leading  the  dance  of 
freedom  and  risk.  To  keep  a  position  or  win  a  position 
in  the  crowd  called  society  some  will  yield  to  any 
fashion,  go  all  lengths  in  the  license  of  amusement,  sit 
unblushing  at  plays  that  serve  only  one  end,  give 
themselves  and  their  daughters  to  embraces  that 
degrade.  The  struggle  to  live  is  spoken  of  sometimes 
as  an  excuse  for  women.  But  is  it  the  very  poor  only 
who  compromise  themselves  ?  Something  else  is  going 
on  beside  the  struggle  to  find  work  and  bread.  People 
are  forgetting  God,  thrusting  aside  the  ideas  of  the  soul 


404  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

and  of  sin ;  they  want  keen  delight  and  are  ready  to 
venture  all  if  only  in  triumphant  ambition  or  on  the 
perilous  edge  of  infamy  they  can  satisfy  desire  for 
an  hour.  The  cry  of  to-day,  spreading  down  through 
all  ranks,  is  the  old  one,  Why  should  we  be  righteous 
over  much  and  destroy  ourselves  ?  It  is  the  expres- 
sion of  a  base  and  despicable  atheism.  To  deny  the 
higher  light  which  shows  the  way  of  personal  duty  and 
nobleness,  to  prefer  instead  the  miserable  rushlight  of 
desire  is  the  fatal  choice  against  which  all  wisdom 
of  sage  and  seer  testifies.  Yet  the  thing  is  done  daily, 
done  by  brilliant  women  who  go  on  as  if  nothing  was 
wrong  and  laugh  back  to  those  who  follow  them.  The 
Divine  Friend  of  women  protests,  but  His  words  are 
unheard,  drowned  by  the  fascinating  music  and  quick 
pulsation  of  the  dance  of  death. 

To  compromise  ourselves  is  bad :  close  beside  lies 
the  danger  of  compromising  others  ;  and  this  too  is 
illustrated  by  the  narrative.  Boaz  acted  in  generosity 
and  honour,  told  Ruth  plainly  that  a  kinsman  nearer 
than  himself  stood  between  them,  made  her  a  most 
favourable  promise.  But  he  sent  her  away  in  the  early 
morning  "  before  one  could  recognise  another."  The 
risk  to  which  she  had  exposed  him  was  one  he  did  not 
care  to  face.  While  he  made  all  possible  excuses  for 
her  and  was  in  a  sense  proud  of  the  trust  she  had 
reposed  in  him,  still  he  was  somewhat  alarmed  and 
anxious.  The  narrative  is  generous  to  Ruth  ;  but  this 
is  not  concealed.  We  see  very  distinctly  a  touch  of 
something  caught  in  heathen  Moab. 

On  the  more  satisfactory  side  of  the  picture  is  the 
confidence  so  unreservedly  exercised,  justified  so  tho- 
roughly. It  is  good  to  be  among  people  who  deserve 
trust  and  never  fail  in  the  time  of  trial.     Take  them  at 


iii.]  THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN.  405 

any  hour,  in  any  way  they  are  the  same.  Incapable 
of  baseness  they  bear  every  test.  On  the  firm  convic- 
tion that  Boaz  was  a  man  of  this  kind  Naomi  depended, 
upon  this  and  an  assurance  equally  firm  that  Ruth 
would  behave  herself  discreetly.  Happy  indeed  are 
those  who  have  the  honour  of  friendship  with  the 
honourable  and  true,  with  men  who  would  rather  lose 
a  right  hand  than  do  anything  base,  with  women  who 
would  die  for  honour's  sake.  To  have  acquaintance 
with  faithful  men  is  to  have  a  way  prepared  for  faith 
in  God. 

Let  us  not  fail,  however,  to  observe  where  honour 
like  this  may  be  found,  where  alone  it  is  to  be  found. 
Common  is  the  belief  that  absolute  fidelity  may  exist 
in  soil  cleared  of  all  religious  principle.  You  meet 
people  who  declare  that  religion  is  of  no  use.  They 
have  been  brought  up  in  religion,  but  they  are  tired 
of  it.  They  have  given  up  churches  and  prayers  and 
are  going  to  be  honourable  without  thought  of  God, 
on  the  basis  of  their  own  steadfast  virtue.  We  shall 
not  say  it  is  impossible,  or  that  women  like  Ruth  may 
not  rely  upon  men  who  so  speak.  But  a  single  word 
of  scorn  cast  on  religion  reveals  so  faulty  a  character 
that  it  is  better  not  to  confide  in  the  man  who  utters 
it.  He  is  in  the  real  sense  an  atheist,  one  to  whom 
nothing  is  sacred.  About  some  duties  he  may  have 
a  sentiment ;  but  what  is  sentiment  or  taste  to  build 
upon?  For  one  to  trust  where  reputation  is  concerned, 
where  moral  w^ell-being  is  involved  a  soul  must  be 
found  whose  life  is  rooted  in  the  faith  of  God.  True 
enough,  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  trusting  persons 
for  whom  we  have  no  such  guarantee.  Fortunately, 
however,  it  is  only  in  matters  of  business,  or  municipal 
affairs,  or  parliamentary  votes,  things  extraneous  to  our 


4o6  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

proper  life.  Unrighteous  laws  may  be  made,  we  may 
be  defrauded  and  oppressed,  but  that  does  not  affect 
our  spiritual  position.  When  it  comes  to  the  soul  and 
the  soul's  Hfe,  when  one  is  in  search  of  a  wife,  a 
husband,  a  friend,  trust  should  be  placed  elsewhere, 
hope  built  on  a  sure  foundation. 

/  May  we  depend  upon  love  in  the  absence  of  religious 
faith  ?  Some  would  fain  .conjure  with  that  word ;  but 
love  is  a  divine  gift  when  it  is  pure  and  true ;  the  rest 
is  mere  desire  and  passion.  Do  you  suppose  because 
an  insincere  worldly  man  has  a  selfish  passion  for  you 
that  you  can  be  safe  with  him  ?  Do  you  think  because 
a  worldly  woman  loves  you  in  a  worldly  way  that  your 
soul  and  your  future  will  be  safe  with  her  ?  ^ind  a 
fearer  of  God,  one  whose  virtues  are  rooted  where 
alone  they  can  grow,  in  faith,  or  live  without  a  wife,  a 
husband,  j  It  is  presupposed  that  you  yourself  are  a 
fearer  of  God,  a  servant  of  Christ.  For,  unless  you  are, 
the  rule  operates  on  the  other  side  and  you  ar&  one  who 
should  be  shunned.  Besides,  if  you  are  a  material- 
ist living  in  time  and  sense  and  yet  look  for  spiritual 
graces  and  superhuman  fidelity,  your  expectation  is 
amazing,  your  hope  a  thing  to  wonder  at. 

True,  hypocrites  exist,  and  we  may  be  deceived  just 
because  of  our  certainty  that  religion  is  the  only  root 
of  faithfulness.  A  man  may  simulate  religion  and 
deceive  for  a  time.  The  young  may  be  sadly  deluded, 
a  whole  community  betrayed  by  one  who  makes  the 
divinest  facts  of  human  nature  serve  his  own  wicked- 
ness awhile.  He  disappears  and  leaves  behind  him 
broken  hearts,  shattered  hopes,  darkened  lives.  Has 
religion,  then,  nothing  to  do  with  morality  ?  The  very 
ruin  we  lament  shows  that  the  human  heart  in  its  depth 
testifies  to  an  intimate  and  eternal  connection  with  the 


iii.]  THE  HAZARDOUS  PLAN.  407 

absolute  of  fidelity.  Not  otherwise  could  that  hypocrite 
have  deceived.  And  in  the  strength  of  faith  there  are 
men  and  women  of  unflinching  honour,  who,  when  they 
find  each  other  out,  form  rare  and  beautiful  alliances. 
Step  for  step  they  go  on,  married  or  unmarried,  each 
cheering  the  other  in  trial,  sustaining  the  other  in 
every  high  and  generous  task.  Together  they  enter 
more  deeply  into  the  purpose  of  life,  that  is  the  will 
of  God,  and  fill  with  strong  and  healthy  religion  the 
circle  of  their  influence. 

Of  the  people  of  ordinary  virtue  what  shall  be  said  ? 
— those  who  are  neither  perfectly  faithful  nor  disgrace- 
fully unfaithful,  neither  certain  to  be  staunch  and  true 
nor  ready  to  betray  and  cast  aside  those  who  trust 
them.  Large  is  the  class  of  men  whose  individuality 
is  not  of  a  moral  kind,  affable  and  easy,  brisk  and 
clever  but  not  resolute  in  truth  and  right.  Are  we 
to  leave  these  where  they  are  ?  If  we  belong  to  their 
number  are  we  to  stay  among  them  ?  Must  they  get 
on  as  best  they  can  with  each  other,  neither  blessed 
nor  condemned  ?  For  them  the  gospel  is  provided  in 
its  depth  and  urgency.  Theirs  is  the  state  it  cannot 
tolerate  nor  leave  untouched,  unaffected.  If  earth  is 
good  enough  for  you,  so  runs  the  divine  message  to 
them,  cling  to  it,  enjoy  its  dainties,  laugh  in  its  sunlight 
— and  die  with  it.  But  if  you  see  the  excellence  of 
truth,  be  true ;  if  you  hear  the  voice  of  the  eternal 
Christ,  arise  and  follow  Him,  born  again  by  the  word 
of  God  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever. 


V. 

THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE 
Ruth  iv 

\  SIMPLE  ceremony  of  Oriental  life  brings  to  a 
JLJL  climax  the  history  which  itself  closes  in  sweet 
music  the  stormy  drama  of  the  Book  of  Judges.  With 
all  the  literary  skill  and  moral  delicacy,  all  the  charm 
and  keen  judgment  of  inspiration  the  narrator  gives  us 
what  he  has  from  the  Spirit.  He  has  represented  with 
fine  brevity  and  power  of  touch  the  old  life  and  custom 
of  Israel,  the  private  groups  in  which  piety  and  faithful- 
ness were  treasured,  the  frank  humanity  and  divine 
seriousness  of  Jehovah's  covenant.  And  now  we  are 
at  the  gate  of  Bethlehem  where  the  head  men  are 
assembled  and  according  to  the  usage  of  the  time  the 
affairs  of  Naomi  and  Ruth  are  settled  by  the  village 
court  of  justice.  Boaz  gives  a  challenge  to  the  goel 
of  Naomi,  and  point  by  point  we  follow  the  legal  forms 
by  which  the  right  to  redeem  the  land  of  Elimelech  is 
given  up  to  Boaz  and  Ruth  becomes  his  wife. 

Why  is  an  old  custom  presented  with  such  minute- 
ness ?  We  may  affirm  the  underlying  suggestion  to  be 
that  the  ways  described  were  good  ways  which  ought 
to  be  kept  in  mind.  The  usage  implied  great  openness 
and  neighbourliness,  a  simple  and  straightforward 
method  of  arranging  affairs  which  were  of  moment  to 


iv.]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE. 


409 


a  community.  People  lived  then  in  very  direct  and 
frank  relations  with  each  other.  Their  little  town  and  its 
concerns  had  close  and  intelligent  attention.  Men  and 
women  desired  to  act  so  that  there  might  be  good 
understanding  among  them,  no  jealousy  nor  rancour 
of  feeling.  Elaborate  forms  of  law  were  unknown, 
unnecessary.  To  take  off  the  shoe  and  hand  it  to 
another  in  the  presence  of  honest  neighbours  ratified 
a  decision  as  well  and  gave  as  good  security  as  much 
writing  on  parchment.  The  author  of  the  Book  of 
Ruth  commends  these  homely  ways  of  a  past  age  and 
suggests  to  the  men  of  his  own  time  that  civilization 
and  the  monarchy,  while  they  have  brought  some  gains, 
are  perhaps  to  be  blamed  for  the  decay  of  simplicity 
and  friendliness. 

More  than  one  reason  may  be  found  for  supposing 
the  book  to  have  been  written  in  Solomon's  time, 
probably  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  when  laws  and 
ordinances  had  multiplied  and  were  being  enforced  in 
endless  detail  by  a  central  authority  ;  when  the  manners 
of  the  nations  around,  Chaldea,  Egypt,  Phoenicia,  were 
overbearing  the  primitive  ways  of  Israel ;  when  luxury 
was  growing,  society  dividing  into  classes  and  a  proud 
imperialism  giving  its  colour  to  habit  and  religion. 
If  we  place  the  book  at  this  period  we  can  understand 
the  moral  purpose  of  the  writer  and  the  importance  of 
his  work.  He  would  teach  people  to  maintain  the  spirit 
of  Israel's  past,  the  brotherliness,  the  fidelity  in  every 
relation  that  were  to  have  been  all  along  a  distinction 
of  Hebrew  life  because  inseparably  connected  with  the 
obedience  of  Jehovah.  The  splendid  temple  on  Moriah 
was  now  the  centre  of  a  great  priestly  system,  and  from 
temple  and  palace  the  national  and,  to  a  great  extent, 
the  personal  Hfe  of  all  Israelites  was  largely  influenced, 


4IO  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

not  in  every  respect  for  good.  The  quiet  suggestion  is 
here  made  that  the  artificiality  and  pomp  of  the  kingdom 
did  not  compare  well  with  that  old  time  when  the  affairs 
of  an  ancestress  of  the  splendid  monarch  were  settled 
by  a  gathering  at  a  village  gate. 

Nor  is  the  lesson  without  its  value  now.  We  are 
not  to  go  back  on  the  past  in  mere  antiquarian  curiosity, 
the  interest  of  secular  research.  Labour  which  goes  to 
revive  the  story  of  mankind  in  remote  ages  has  its  value 
only  when  it  is  applied  to  the  uses  of  the  moralist  and 
the  prophet.  We  have  much  to  learn  again  that  has 
been  forgotten,  much  to  recall  that  has  escaped  the 
memory  of  the  race.  Through  phases  of  complex 
civilization  in  which  the  outward  and  sensuous  are 
pursued  the  world  has  to  pass  to  a  new  era  of  more 
simple  and  yet  mere  profound  life,  to  a  social  order 
fitted  for  the  development  of  spiritual  power  and  grace. 
And  the  church  is  well  directed  by  the  Book  of  God. 
Her  inquiry  into  the  past  is  no  affair  of  intellectual 
curiosity,  but  a  research  governed  by  the  principles  that 
have  underlain  man's  life  from  the  first  and  a  growing 
apprehension  of  all  that  is  at  stake  in  the  multiform 
energy  of  the  present.  Amid  the  bustle  and  pressure 
of  those  endeavours  which  Christian  faith  itself  may 
induce  our  minds  become  confused.  Thinkers  and 
doers  are  alike  apt  to  forget  the  deliverances  knowledge 
ought  to  effect,  and  while  they  learn  and  attempt  much 
they  are  rather  passing  into  bondage  than  finding  life. 
Our  research  seems  more  and  more  to  occupy  us  with 
the  manner  of  things,  and  even  Bible  Archaeology  is 
exposed  to  this  reproach.  As  for  the  scientific  com- 
parers of  religion  they  are  mostly  feeding  the  vanity 
of  the  age  with  a  sense  of  extraordinary  progress  and 
enhghtenment,  and  themselves  are  occasionally  heard  to 


iv.]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE.  411 

confess  that  the  farther  they  go  in  study  of  old  faiths, 
old  rituals  and  moralities  the  less  profit  they  find,  the 
less  hint  of  a  design.  No  such  futility,  no  failure  of 
culture  and  inquiry  mark  the  Bible  writers'  dealing  with 
the  past.  To  the  humble  life  of  the  Son  of  Man  on 
earth,  to  the  life  of  the  Hebrews  long  before  He 
appeared  our  thought  is  carried  back  from  the  thousand 
objects  that  fascinate  in  the  world  of  to-day.  And 
there  we  see  the  faith  and  all  the  elements  of  spiritual 
vitality  of  which  our  own  belief  and  hope  are  the  fruit. 
There  too  without  those  cumbrous  modern  involutions 
which  never  become  familiar,  society  wonderfully  fulfils 
its  end  in  regulating  personal  effort  and  helping  the 
conscience  and  the  soul. 

The  scene  at  the  gate  shows  Boaz  energetically 
conducting  the  case  he  has  taken  up.  Private  con- 
siderations urged  him  to  bring  rapidly  to  an  issue  the 
affairs  of  Naomi  and  Ruth  since  he  was  involved,  and 
again  he  commends  himself  as  a  man  who,  having  a 
task  in  hand,  does  it  with  his  might.  His  pledge  to 
Ruth  was  a  pledge  also  to  his  own  conscience  that  no 
suspense  should  be  due  to  any  carelessness  of  his ;  and 
in  this  he  proved  himself  a  pattern  friend.  The  great 
man  often  shows  his  greatness  by  making  others  wait 
at  his  door.  They  are  left  to  find  the  level  of  their 
insignificance  and  learn  the  value  of  his  favour.  So 
the  grace  of  God  is  frustrated  by  those  who  have  the 
opportunity  and  should  covet  the  honour  of  being  His 
instruments.  Men  know  that  they  should  wait  patiently 
on  God's  time,  but  they  are  bewildered  when  they  have 
to  wait  on  the  strange  arrogance  of  those  in  whose 
hands  Providence  has  placed  the  means  of  their  succour. 
And  many  must  be  the  cases  in  which  this  fault  of  man 


4»2  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

begets  bitterness,  distrust  of  God  and  even  despair.  It 
should  be  a  matter  of  anxiety  to  us  all  to  do  with  speed 
and  care  anything  on  which  the  hopes  of  the  humble 
and  needy  rest.  A  soul  more  worthy  than  our  own 
may  languish  in  darkness  while  a  promise  which  should 
have  been  sacred  is  allowed  to  fade  from  our  memory. 

Boaz  was  also  open  and  straightforward  in  his 
transactions.  His  own  wish  is  pretty  clear.  He  seems 
as  anxious  as  Naomi  herself  that  to  him  should  fall  the 
duty  of  redeeming  her  burdened  inheritance  and  reviv- 
ing her  husband's  name.  Possibly  without  any  public 
discussion,  by  consulting  with  the  nearer  kinsman  and 
urging  his  own  wish  or  superior  ability  he  might  have 
settled  the  affair.  Other  inducements  failing,  the  offer 
of  a  sum  of  money  might  have  secured  to  him  the  right 
of  redemption.  But  in  the  light  of  honour,  in  the  court 
of  his  conscience,  the  man  was  unable  thus  to  seek  his 
end  ;  and  besides  the  town's  people  had  to  be  consi- 
dered ;  their  sense  of  justice  had  to  be  satisfied  as  well 
as  his  own. 

Often  it  is  not  enough  that  we  do  a  thing  from 
the  best  of  motives ;  we  must  do  it  in  the  best  way, 
for  the  support  of  justice  or  purity  or  truth.  While 
private  benevolence  is  one  of  the  finest  of  arts,  the 
Christian  is  not  unfrequently  called  to  exercise  another 
which  is  more  difficult  and  not  less  needful  in  society. 
Required  at  one  hour  not  to  let  his  left  hand  know 
what  his  right  hand  doetb,  at  another  he  is  required  in 
all  modesty  and  simplicity  to  take  his  fellows  to  witness 
that  he  acts  for  righteousness,  that  he  is  contending  for 
some  thought  of  Christ's,  that  he  is  not  standing  in  the 
outer  court  among  those  who  are  ashamed  but  has  taken 
his  place  with  the  Master  at  the  judgment  bar  of  the 
world.     Again,  when  a  matter  in  which  a  Christian  is 


iv.]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE.  413 


involved  is  before  the  public  and  has  provoked  a  good 
deal  of  discussion  and  perhaps  no  little  criticism  of 
religion  and  its  professors  it  is  not  enough  that  out  of 
sight,  out  of  court  some  arrangement  be  made  which 
counts  for  a  moral  settlement.  That  is  not  enough 
though  a  person  whose  rights  and  character  are  affected 
may  consent  to  it.  If  still  the  world  has  reason  to 
question  whether  justice  has  been  done, — justice  has 
not  been  done.  If  still  the  truthfulness  of  the  church 
is  under  valid  suspicion, — the  church  is  not  manifesting 
Christ  as  it  should.  For  no  moral  cause  once  opened  at 
public  assize  can  be  issued  in  private.  It  is  no  longer 
between  one  man  and  another,  nor  between  a  man 
and  the  church.  The  conscience  of  the  race  has  been 
empanelled  and  cannot  be  discharged  without  judgment. 
Innumerable  causes  withdrawn  from  court,  compro- 
mised, hushed  up  or  settled  in  corners  with  an  effort  at 
justice  still  shadow  the  history  of  the  church  and  cast 
a  darkness  of  justifiable  suspicion  on  the  path  along 
which  she  would  advance. 

Even  in  this  little  affair  at  Bethlehem  the  good  man 
will  have  everything  done  with  perfect  openness  and 
honour  and  will  stand  by  the  result  whether  it  meet 
his  hopes  or  disappoint  them.  At  the  town-gate,  the 
common  meeting-place  for  conversation  and  business, 
Boaz  takes  his  seat  and  invites  the  goel  to  sit  beside 
him  and  also  a  jury  of  ten  elders.  The  court  thus 
constituted,  he  states  the  case  of  Naomi  and  her  desire 
to  sell  a  parcel  of  land  which  belonged  to  her  husband. 
When  Elimelech  left  Bethlehem  he  had,  no  doubt, 
borrowed  money  on  the  field,  and  now  the  question  is 
whether  the  nearest  kinsman  will  pay  the  debt  and 
beyond  that  the  further  value  of  the  land  so  that  the 
widow  may  have  something  to  herself.     Promptly  the 


414  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

goel  answers  that  he  is  ready  to  buy  the  land.  This, 
however,  is  not  all.  In  buying  the  field  and  adding  it 
to  his  estate  will  the  man  take  Ruth  to  wife,  to  raise 
up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance  ?  He  is 
not  prepared  to  do  that,  for  the  children  of  Ruth  would 
be  entitled  to  the  portion  of  ground  and  he  is  unwilling 
to  impoverish  his  own  family.  "  I  cannot  redeem  it 
for  myself,  lest  I  mar  my  own  inheritance."  He  draws 
off  his  shoe  and  gives  it  to  Boaz  renouncing  his  right 
of  redemption. 

Now  this  marriage-custom  is  not  ours,  but  at  the 
time,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  a  sacred  rule,  and  the 
goel  was  morally  bound  by  it.  He  could  have  insisted 
on  redeeming  the  land  as  his  right.  To  do  so  was 
therefore  his  duty,  and  to  a  certain  extent  he  failed  from 
the  ideal  of  a  kinsman's  obligation.  But  the  position 
was  not  an  easy  one.  Surely  the  man  was  justified  in 
considering  the  children  he  already  had  and  their  claims 
upon  him.  Did  he  not  exercise  a  wise  prudence  in 
refusing  to  undertake  a  new  obligation  ?  Moreover 
the  circumstances  were  delicate  and  dispeace  might 
have  been  caused  in  his  household  if  he  took  the 
Moabite  woman.  It  is  certainly  one  of  those  cases  in 
which  a  custom  or  law  has  great  weight  and  yet  creates 
no  little  difficulty,  moral  as  well  as  pecuniary,  in  the 
observance.  A  man  honest  enough  and  not  ungenerous 
may  find  it  hard  to  determine  on  which  side  duty  lies. 
Without,  however,  abusing  this  goel  we  may  fairly  take 
him  as  a  type  of  those  who  are  more  impressed  by  the 
prudential  view  of  their  circumstances  than  by  the 
duties  of  kinship  and  hospitality.  If  in  the  course  of 
providence  we  have  to  decide  whether  we  will  admit 
some  new  inmate  to  our  home  worldly  considerations 
must  not  rule  either  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 


Jv.]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE.  415 

A  man's  duty  to  his  family,  what  is  it  ?  To  exclude 
a  needy  dependant  however  pressing  the  claim  may 
be?  To  admit  one  freely  who  has  the  recommendation 
of  wealth  ?  Such  earthly  calculation  is  no  rule  for 
a  true  man.  The  moral  duty,  the  moral  result  are 
always  to  be  the  main  elements  of  decision.  No 
family  ever  gains  by  relief  from  an  obligation  con- 
science acknowledges.  No  family  loses  by  the  fulfil- 
m.ent  of  duty,  whatever  the  expense.  In  household 
debate  the  balance  too  often  turns  not  on  the  character 
of  Ruth  but  on  her  lack  of  gear.  The  same  woman 
who  is  refused  as  a  heathen  when  she  is  poor,  is 
discovered  to  be  a  most  desirable  relation  if  she 
brings  fuel  for  the  fire  of  welcome.  Let  our  decisions 
be  quite  clear  of  this  mean  hypocrisy.  Would  we 
insist  on  being  dutiful  to  a  rich  relation?  Then  the 
duty  remains  to  him  and  his  if  they  fall  into  poverty, 
for  a  moral  claim  cannot  be  altered  by  the  state  of  the 
purse. 

And  what  of  the  duty  to  Christ,  His  church,  His 
poor  ?  Would  to  God  some  people  were  afraid  to  leave 
their  children  wealthy,  were  afraid  of  having  God 
inquire  for  His  portion.  A  shadow  rests  on  the  inherit- 
ance that  has  been  guarded  in  selfish  pride  against  the 
just  claims  of  man,  in  defiance  of  the  law  of  Christ. 
Yet  let  one  be  sure  that  his  liberality  is  not  mixed  with 
a  carnal  hope.  What  do  we  think  of  when  we  declare 
that  God's  recompense  to  those  who  give  freely  comes 
in  added  store  of  earthly  treasure,  the  tithe  returned 
ten  and  twenty  and  a  hundred  fold  ?  By  what  law  of 
the  material  or  spiritual  world  does  this  come  about  ? 
Certainly  we  love  a  generous  man,  and  the  liberal 
shall  stand  by  liberal  things.  But  surely  God's  purpose 
is  to  make    us    comprehend  that  His  grace  does   not 


4i6  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

take  the  form  of  a  percentage  on  investments.  When 
a  man  grows  spiritually,  when  although  he  becomes 
poorer  he  yet  advances  to  nobler  manhood,  to  power 
and  joy  in  Christ — this  is  the  reward  of  Christian 
generosity  and  faithfulness.  Let  us  be  done  with 
religious  materialism,  with  expecting  our  God  to  repay 
us  in  the  coin  of  this  earth  for  our  service  in  the 
heavenly  kingdom. ' 

The  marriage  of  Ruth  at  which  we  now  arrive 
appears  at  once  as  the  happy  termination  of  Naomi's 
solicitude  for  her,  the  partial  reward  of  her  own  faith- 
fulness and  the  solution  so  far  as  she  was  concerned 
of  the  problem  of  woman's  destiny.  The  idea  of  the 
spiritual  completion  of  Hfe  for  woman  as  well  as  man, 
of  the  woman  being  able  to  attain  a  personal  standing 
of  her  own  with  individual  responsibility  and  freedom 
was  not  fully  present  to  the  Hebrew  mind.  If  un- 
married, Ruth  would  have  remained,  as  Naomi  well 
knew  and  had  all  along  said,  without  a  place  in  society, 
without  an  asylum  or  shelter.  This  old-world  view  of 
things  burdens  the  whole  history,  and  before  passing  on 
we  must  compare  it  with  the  state  of  modern  thought 
on  the  question. 

The  incompleteness  of  the  childless  widow's  life 
which  is  an  element  of  this  narrative,  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  life  of  every  unmarried  woman  which 
appears  in  the  lament  for  Jephthah's  daughter  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Bible  as  well  as  in  other  records  of  the 
ancient  world  had,  we  may  say,  a  two-fold  cause.  On 
the  one  hand  there  was  the  obvious  fact  that  marriage 
has  a  reason  in  physical  constitution  and  the  order  of 
human  society.  On  the  other  hand  heathen  practices 
and  constant  wars  made  it,  as  we  have  seen,  impossible 
for  women  to  establish  themselves  alone.     A  woman 


iv]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE.  417 

needed  protection,  or  as  the  law  of  England  has  it, 
coverture.  In  very  exceptional  cases  only  could  the 
opportunity  be  found,  even  among  the  people  of  Jehovah, 
for  those  personal  efforts  and  acts  which  give  a  position 
in  the  world.  But  the  distinction  of  Israel's  custom 
and  law  as  compared  with  those  of  many  nations  lay 
here,  that  woman  was  recognized  as  entitled  to  a  place 
of  her  own  side  by  side  with  man  in  the  social  scheme. 
The  conception  of  her  individuality  as  of  individuality 
generally  was  limited.  The  idea  of  what  is  now  called 
the  social  organism  governed  family  life,  and  the  very 
faith  that  was  afterwards  to  become  the  strength  of 
individuality  was  held  as  a  national  thing.  The  view 
of  complete  life  had  no  clear  extension  into  the  future, 
even  the  salvation  of  the  soul  did  not  appear  as  a 
distinct  provision  for  personal  immortality.  Under 
these  limitations,  however,  the  proper  life  of  every 
woman  and  her  place  in  the  nation  were  acknowledged 
and  provision  was  made  for  her  as  well  as  circumstances 
would  allow.  By  the  customs  of  marriage  and  by  the 
laws  of  inheritance  she  w^as  recognized  and  guarded. 

Now  it  may  appear  that  the  problem  of  woman's 
place,  so  far  from  approaching  solution  in  Christian 
times,  has  rather  fallen  into  greater  confusion ;  and 
many  are  the  attacks  m.ade  from  one  point  of  view  and 
another  upon  the  present  condition  of  things.  By  the 
nature  school  of  revolutionaries  physical  constitution  is 
made  a  starting-point  in  argument  and  the  reasoning 
sweeps  before  it  every  hindrance  to  the  completion 
of  life  on  that  side  for  women  as  for  men.  Christian 
marriage  is  itself  assailed  by  these  as  an  obstacle  in 
the  path  of  evolution.  They  find  women,  thanks  to 
Christianity,  no  longer  unable  to  establish  themselves 
in  hfe  ;   but  against  Christianity  which  has  done  this 

27 


4i8  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

they  raise  the  loud  complaint  that  it  bars  the  individual 
from  full  life  and  enjoyment.  In  the  course  of  our 
discussion  of  the  Book  of  Judges  reference  has  been 
made  once  and  again  to  this  propaganda,  and  here  its 
real  nature  comes  to  light.  Its  conception  of  human 
life  is  based  on  mere  animalism ;  it  throws  into  the 
crucible  the  gain  of  the  centuries  in  spiritual  discipline 
and  energetic  purity  in  order  to  make  ample  provision 
for  the  flesh  and  the  fulfilling  of  the  lusts  thereof. 

But  the  problem  is  not  more  confused ;  it  is  solved, 
as  all  other  problems  are  by  Christ.  Penetrating  and 
arrogant  voices  of  the  day  will  cease  and  His  again  be 
heard  Whose  terrible  and  gracious  doctrine  of  personal 
responsibility  in  the  supernatural  order  is  already  the 
heart  of  human  thought  and  hope.  There  is  turmoil, 
disorder,  vile  and  foolish  experimenting ;  but  the 
remedy  is  forward  not  behind.  Christ  has  opened  the 
spiritual  kingdom,  has  made  it  possible  for  every  soul 
to  enter.  For  each  human  being  now,  man  and 
woman,  life  means  spiritual  overcoming,  spiritual 
possession,  and  can  mean  nothing  else.  It  is  altogether 
out  of  date,  an  insult  to  the  conscience  and  common 
sense  of  mankind,  not  to  speak  of  its  faith,  to  go  back 
on  the  primitive  world  and  the  ages  of  a  lower  evolu- 
tion and  fasten  down  to  sensuousness  a  race  that  has 
heard  the  liberating  word,  Repent,  believe  and  live. 
The  incompleteness  of  a  human  being  lies  in  subjection 
to  passion,  in  existing  without  moral  energy,  governed 
by  the  earthly  and  therefore  without  hope  or  reason 
of  life.  To  the  full  stature  of  heavenly  power  the 
woman  has  her  way  open  through  the  blood  of  the 
cross,  and  by  a  path  of  loneliness  and  privation,  if  need 
be,  she  may  advance  to  the  highest  range  of  priestly 
service  and  blessing. 


iv.]  THE  MARRIAGE  AT  THE   GATE.  419 

To  the  Jewish  people  and  to  the  writer  of  the  Book 
of  Ruth  as  a  Jew  genealogy  was  of  more  account  than 
to  us,  and  a  place  in  David's  ancestry  appears  as  the 
final  honour  of  Ruth  for  her  dutifulness,  her  humble 
faith  in  the  God  of  Israel.  Orpah  is  forgotten  ;  she 
remained  with  her  own  people  and  died  in  obscurity. 
But  faithful  Ruth  lives  distinguished  in  history.  She 
takes  her  place  among  the  matrons  of  Bethlehem  and 
the  people  of  God.  The  story  of  her  life,  says  one, 
stands  at  the  portal  of  the  life  of  David  and  at  the 
gates  of  the  gospel. 

Yet  suppose  Ruth  had  not  been  married  to  Boaz  or 
to  any  other  good  and  wealthy  man,  would  she  have 
been  less  admirable  and  deserving  ?  We  attribute 
nothing  to  accident.  In  the  providence  of  God  Boaz 
was  led  to  an  admiration  for  Ruth  and  Naomi's  plan 
succeeded.  But  it  might  have  been  otherwise.  There 
is  nothing,  after  all,  so  striking  in  her  faith  that  we 
should  expect  her  to  be  singled  out  for  special  honour ; 
and  she  is  not.  The  divine  reward  of  goodness  is  the 
peace  of  God  in  the  soul,  the  gladness  of  fellowship 
with  Him,  the  opportunity  of  learning  His  will  and 
dispensing  His  grace.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
Ruth's  son  Obed  was  the  father  of  Jesse  and  the 
grandfather  of  David.  But  was  Ruth  no  also  the 
ancestress  of  the  sons  of  Zeruiah,  of  Absalom,  Adonijah 
and  Rehoboam  ?  Even  though  looking  down  the 
generations  we  see  the  Messiah  born  of  her  line,  how 
can  that  glorify  Ruth  ?  or,  if  it  does,  how  shall  we 
explain  the  want  of  glory  of  many  an  estimable  and 
godly  woman  who  fighting  a  battle  harder  than  Ruth's, 
with  clearer  faith  in  God,  lived  and  died  in  some 
obscure  village  of  Naphtali  or  dragged  out  a  weary 
widowhood  on  the  borders  of  the  Syrian  desert  ? 


420  THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH. 

Yet  there  is  a  sense  in  which  the  history  of  Ruth 
stands  at  the  gates  of  the  gospel.  It  bears  the  lesson 
that  Jehovah  acknowledged  all  who  did  justly  and 
loved  mercy  and  walked  humbly  with  Him.  The 
foreign  woman  was  justified  by  faith,  and  her  faith  had 
its  reward  when  she  was  accepted  as  one  of  Jehovah's 
people  and  knew  Him  as  her  gracious  Friend.  Israel 
had  in  this  book  the  warrant  for  missionary  work 
among  the  pagan  nations  and  a  beautiful  apologue  of 
the  reconcib'ation  the  faith  of  Jehovah  was  to  effect 
among  the  severed  families  of  mankind.  The  same 
faith  is  ours,  but  with  deeper  urgency,  the  same  spirit 
of  reconciliation  reaching  now  to  farther  mightier  issues. 
We  have  seen  the  Goel  of  the  race  and  have  heard  His 
offer  of  redemption.  We  are  commissioned  to  those 
who  dwell  in  the  remotest  borders  of  the  moral  world 
under  oppressions  of  heathenism  and  fear  or  wander  in 
strange  Moabs  of  confusion  where  deep  calleth  unto  deep. 
We  have  to  testify  that  with  One  and  One  only  are  the 
Hght,  the  joy,  the  completeness  of  man,  because  He  alone 
among  sages  and  helpers  has  the  secret  of  our  sin  and 
weakness  and  the  long  miracle  of  the  soul's  redemption. 
^'  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  whole  creation  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you."  The 
faith  of  the  Hebrew  is  more  than  fulfilled.  Out  of 
Israel  He  comes  our  Menuchah,  Who  is  ^^  an  hiding 
place  from  the  wind  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest^  as 
rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place ^  as  the  shadow  of  a  great 
lock  in  a  weary  land" 


INDEX. 


ACHSAH,  20. 

Adoni-bezek,  12. 
Adventurer,  the,  211. 
Agnosticism,  156. 
Altars,  local,  338. 
Amalek,  78. 
Amorites,  64. 
Angel  of  Jehovah,  147. 
Ascendency  of  races,  14. 
Astarte,  52. 

Baal,  52. 

Baal-berith,  the  modern,  221. 

Baal-peor,  51. 

Balaam,  70. 

Barak,    the    Lightning    Chiet,    99; 

agreement  v,-ith  Deborah,  122. 
Barbarism,  the  new,  140. 
Bethlehem,  364. 

Canaan,  its  population,  6 ;  central 
position,  6;  degeneracy  of  its 
people,  8 ;  gods  of,  52. 

Character,  national,  205  ;  of  Arabs, 
239 ;  decision  of,  378. 

Charity,  careless,  399. 

Christ,  the  Strengthener,  42,  43; 
and  the  inquirer,  124 ;  and  the 
church,  152,  177;  critics  of,  154; 
personal    pledge    to,    160,    383; 


enemies  of,  iSl ;  priesthood  of, 
208 ;  kingship  of,-  228  ;  sacrifice 
of,  251,  332;  manliness  of,  264; 
the  temple,  343 ;  His  teaching  as 
to  wealth,  388. 

Christianity  secularized,  330. 

Church,  the,  opposition  to,  79,  82 , 
leaders  in,  123  ;  custody  of  truth 
by,  124;  world  in,  133;  elation 
of,  139;  right  spirit  of,  152;  con- 
fusion in,  171;  national,  176; 
attacks  upon,  186;  perpetual  duty 

of,  353. 

Completeness  of  hfe,  416. 

Compromise,  88,  402;  with  hea- 
thens, 98. 

Concentration,    175;   and  breadth, 

275- 
Conscience,    correlative  of  power, 
303  ;  and  Ufe,  353,  354;  insanity 

of,  357. 
Conversion,  27,  159;  imperfect,  41  ; 

helped    by   circumstances,    158; 

complete,  160;  Ruth's,  381. 
Co-partnery,  with  the  world,  220 ; 

between  Hebrew  and  Philistine, 

284. 
Creed,  the  old,  172. 
Culture,  20,  88;  affecting  religion, 

228. 


422 


INDEX. 


Cushan-rishathaim,  69. 
Custom,  old,  why  recorded,  408. 

Danite  migration,  340. 

Date  of  Book  of  Ruth,  409. 

Deborah,  91 ;  inspiration  of,  96,  102, 
108 ;  her  wisdom,  100 ;  not  un- 
merciful,   117;    her    judgeship, 

135. 
Dependents,  duty  to,  414. 
Dependence,  ignoble,  297. 
Divine  judgment,  1 1 ;  of  Meroz  the 

prudent,  132. 
Divine  Vindicator,  the,  394. 
Doubt,  religious,  26. 

Earth-force  in  man,  149. 
Ecclcsiasticism,  167,  201, 
Education,  273. 
Ehud,  83. 
Emigration,  366. 
Entanglements,  base,  301. 
Equipment  for  life,  184. 
Evil,  despotic,  287. 
Evolution,  spiritual,  4,  85,  109. 
Ezra,  38. 

Faint  yet  pursuing,  191. 

Faith,  development  of,  4;  conflicts 
of,  27 ;  link  between  generations, 
49  ;  army  of,  128  ;  recuperative 
power  ot,  141  ;  power  through, 
203 ;  ebb  and  flow  of,  233 ;  saves, 
not  doing,  300;  courage  forced 
on,  347- 

Fidelity  depends  on  religion,  405. 

Fittest,  survival  of,  9. 

Fleece,  Gideon's,  169. 

Freedom,  cradle  of  faith,  85,  86,  90; 
right  of  the  rude,  258. 

Free-lance,  304. 


GiBEAH,  crime  of,  348. 

Gideon,  144;  his  fleece,  169;  his 
three  hundred,  173;  kingship 
refused  by,  196;  his  caution,  197; 
desire  for  priesthood,  198 ;  his 
ephod-dealing,  202;  a  storm  of 
God,  204. 

Gilead,  its  vigour,  235. 

God  with  man,  146. 

Goel,  duty  of,  39S. 

Gospel,  at  the  gates  of,  420. 

Heathenism,  rites  of,  53. 

Hebrews,  language  of,  31 ;  inter- 
mixture with  Canaanites,  68; 
national  spirit  of,  234. 

Heroism,  149. 

History,  key  to,  5,  295. 

Hittites,  65. 

Honey  from  the  carcase,  289. 

Humanity,  priesthood  of,  208. 

Ideal,  of  life,  29;  for  Israel,  48, 
242. 

Idolatry,  33  ;  unpardonable,  49. 

Intolerance,  moral,  354. 

Israel,  mission  of,  13;  oppressed 
by  Cushan-rishathaim,  72 ;  by 
Jabin,  92;  by  Midianites,  137; 
tribes  of,  97,  132,  167;  its  idea 
of  Jehovah,  107,  118;  superiority 
of,  55,  69,  90. 

Jael,  103,  134;  her  tragic  moment, 

105. 
Jealousy,  tribal,  255. 
Jebusites,  28. 
Jephthah,  the  outlaw,  235 ;  chosen 

leader,  236 ;  his  peaceful  policy, 

240;  his  vow,  243;  his  daughter, 

247. 
Jerusalem   15. 


INDEX. 


423 


Joash  of  Abiezer,  156. 

Joshua,  45. 

Jothara's  parable,  214. 

Judges,  their  vindication,  57. 

Justice,    passion    for,    58;    human 

effort  for,   104;  should  be  open, 

412. 

Kenites,  24. 

Kingship,  refused  by  Gideon,  196. 

Kiriath-sepher,  18. 

Leaders,  uncalled,  163. 

Leadership,  incomplete,  161. 

Levites,  338. 

Life,  the  law  of,  294,  299 ;  hind- 
rances to,  296 ;  fear  hindering, 
297;  complete,  314. 

Literature,  19;  Danites  of,  345,  346. 

Love,  380. 

Luz,  28. 

Marriage,  20 ;  a  failure  ?  24 ;  rash 

experiments  in,  284. 
Marriages,  mixed,  38. 
Master-strokes  in  providence,  158. 
Meroz,  132. 
Micah,  335. 
Midianites,  137,  195. 
Missionary  spirit,  137. 
Moab,  77,  367. 
Moderatism,  166. 
Monotheism,  32. 
Moral  intolerance,  354. 
Moses,  13,  19. 
Motherhood,  268. 

National  church,  176, 

Nature,  God  revealed    in,  III-15; 

and  supernatural,  266. 
Nature-cult,  42,  418. 
Nazirite  vow,  276. 
Nomadism,  religious,  25. 


Opportunism,  166. 
Organized  vice,  179. 
Orpah,  376. 
Othniel,  22,  73. 

Parentage,  271. 

Past,  the,  returning,  71 ;  lessons  of, 

410. 
Pastors,  unspiritual,  344. 
Patriotism,  religious,  226. 
Personal  ends  engrossing,  136. 
Personality,  15;  in  religion,  379. 
Pessimism,  230. 

Pharisaism,  39  ;  danger  of,  356. 
Philistines,  26,  62. 
Philistinism,  310,  329. 
Phoenicians,  63. 
Polygamy,  21,  351. 
Polytheism,  its  development,  54. 
Prayer,  142,  143,  231. 
Predestination,  269. 
Priesthood,    Gideon's     desire    for, 

198;  true,  206;  Roman  Catholic, 

246. 
Prophets,  unrecognized,  162 ;  their 

preparation,  270. 
Prosperity,  misunderstood,  388. 
Providence,  imperfect  instruments 

of,  58,  84. 
Public  office,  216. 
Purity,  350. 

Reconciliation,    religion    always 

for,  395. 
Reformer,  his  character,  153. 
Reformation,  the  true,  155. 
Religion,  emotional,  130;   and  the 

state,  36,  75. 
Remnant,  the  godly,  126,  131. 
Repentance,  imperfect,  40. 
Responsibility,   300;  in    advising, 

370- 
Retribution,  138. 


424 


INDEX. 


Rich,  obligations  of,  390. 

Rights  and  duties,  30,  256. 

Ruth,  her  choice,  377 ;  conversion 
of,  381 ;  gocdness  commending 
her,  392 ;  her  danger,  401 ;  her 
marriage,  416. 

Sacred  places,  33. 

Salvation,  personal,  15 1. 

Samson,  his  loneliness,  279  ;  boy- 
hood of,  280;  character  of,  281  ; 
his  marriage,  290;  his  riddle, 
291 ;  no  reformer,  308. 

Schism,  342,  345. 

Science,  dogmatism  of,  1 12 ;  Danites 

of,  345- 

Self-respect,  312. 

Self-sacrifice,  249,  331,  333. 

Self-suppression,  16,  251,  375. 

Self-vindication,  358. 

Separations  in  life,  383. 

Shechem,  210. 

Shibboleths,  of  reform,  262  ;  allow- 
able, 263  ;  Christ  used  none,  264. 

Sibboleths,  of  egotism,  260;  of  bad 
habit,  260;  of  literature,  261. 

Sisera,  loi. 

Spiritual  brotherhood,  1 5 1 ;  strength, 
321,  324;  service,  369;  pauperism, 
40a 


Strength  and  character,  193. 
Struggle,  the  law  of  existence,  lO. 
Success,  sanctified,  80 ;  succeeding, 

189. 
Succoth  and  Penuel,  190. 
Supernatural  in  human  life,  267. 

Temptation,  287;  process  of,  317. 
Theocracy,  3,  46 ;  Jotham's  idea  of, 

214,  218. 
Tribal  religion,  328. 
Truth  and  charity,  228. 

Unscrupulous  helpers,  133. 

Veracity  of  the  narrative,  359. 
Vicarious  suffering,  355. 
Voluntary  churches,  176. 

Wars  01  conquest,  5. 

Women,  treatment  of,  21 ;  their 
freedom,  22;  duties  of,  125, 
social  bondage  of,  372;  helpless, 
373 ;  submission  preached  to 
375  )  problems  in  their  hfe,  416, 
418. 

Wrong  never  strong,  182. 

Zephath,  25. 


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